I Knew You Were Trouble
by wikelia
Summary: Modern AU. Jerkcup/Nerdstrid. After getting knocked out, Astrid could only hope that she was beginning to imagine things. Because being stuck with Hiccup Haddock for a week HAS to be a delusion...right? Rated T for language and sexual references.
1. Chapter 1

**Is this a real story that I can carry through with? I hope so. Also,** _ **I am not bashing any canon character, book or movie.**_ **Some people may seem bad, but trust me, no one is a jerk just for the sake of being a jerk. The only people who are bashed are minor OCs, and the ones who are supposed to be bad in canon.**

Astrid was pretty good at basketball.

Not as good as she was at, say, badminton, tennis, or soccer, but she was good enough for people to whisper about the nerd having a sporty side. They weren't being mean, Astrid was a self proclaimed nerd. She was damn proud of being studious; it was not something people bullied her over. High school had definitely changed since the 90's, nerds were pretty appreciated in this time and day. Jocks were appreciated. Drama club was appreciated. Musicians were appreciated. The adults could complain about this generation all they liked, but the truth of the matter was that this was probably the most accepting generation ever.

Not that it didn't have its' problems. There were still bullies and idiots who got drunk every weekend (and weekday). There were still pathetic people. Douchebags. Jerks. Losers.

People like Camicazi. And Heather. And Snotlout. And Hiccup.

And then of course, there were the lunatics, like Dagur, who only seemed to want to terrorize everyone in the school. Luckily, she had never been a target, and probably never would be, of one of his insane plans.

Speaking of _target_ , it seemed that it did not matter if she was good at basketball or not. Hiccup Haddock didn't seem to care. Astrid saw the smirk on his face when she was standing in front of him, guarding the hoop. The problem was, he was not aiming at the hoop. Her glasses were knocked off and a searing pain entered her head, and before she hit the ground and closed her eyes, she realized just exactly what the jerk's target had been.

* * *

His head was down, but his lips were still tilted upwards in a small grin. Not everyone got to claim they hit Astrid Hofferson with a basketball. These were pretty good bragging rights that would not be wasted.

It was a little cruel. But technically, it wasn't even his fault. It was _Camicazi_ who had dared him to do it, to raise that basketball and hit the blonde pipsqueak (as though Cami wasn't a blonde pipsqueak) straight in the face. And yeah, he had accepted. But he couldn't refuse a dare from Camicazi; she'd never let him live it down. Neither would Snotlout.

And hey, he _was_ getting punished for it. So everything was justifiable.

Not to say that Stoick Haddock's glare didn't make him a bit nervous. It always had, always would. And combined with the principal's, it wasn't very pleasant.

"You will be glad to hear," the principal, Mr. Johann, said, putting his elbows on the table, "that Miss Hofferson is fine. She recovered in the nurse's office. And her parents are not pressing charges," he added, when it looked like his dad was about to say something, "they insisted that their daughter's attacker get some punishment, though."

Hiccup snorted under his breath. Johann had always been one to exaggerate, but now the auburn haired boy wasn't sure if the guy was joking of if Astrid's parents had actually said that. Punishment? Who did they think they were, the head of the Supreme Court? If their precious little show off was fine, what did it matter if he got punished or not?

Then again, Hiccup supposed he was going to get punished either way, so Mr. and Mrs. Hofferson's words didn't really make a difference. His dad wouldn't let him off scot free, he never had. And he was dreading it too, because this was worse than ditching or mouthing a teacher. He had actually attacked someone.

Stoick stood behind him, tall and impressive, unlike his slouching son. The shame was written very clearly on his face.

"You will be doing community service," Johann went on, "is that alright, Mr. Haddock?"

Hiccup opened his mouth to protest, but Stoick beat him to it. "That's fine, Mr. Johann."

 _Oh,_ the question had been for his dad. That was kinda stupid. Shouldn't he get a say in his own punishment? Now that Stoick had agreed, there would be no arguing.

"When?" Hiccup asked, annoyed beyond belief.

"Spring break, of course. This next week." Johann looked surprised that he had even asked.

"What?" He stood up, enraged. "No, no, after. I have plans this week!"

"Son," boomed Stoick. Hiccup turned his furious gaze on his father, who put up a hand. "You hit the poor girl, now you're going to pay the price. This week is fine. What is he doing?"

"Are you aware of the orphanage nearby?"

Stoick nodded solemnly. "Of course. We've donated a few times."

"That is where he will be volunteering."

" _Dad,"_ Hiccup interjected slowly, "I am not -"

"Oh yes you are," he said, half threatening, "I've had enough of this nonsense. Maybe seeing the less fortunate will put you in line."

Oh great. Even Heather would make fun of him for this. He was gonna be a fucking _babysitter._ Instead of spending the week with his friends, getting drunk, maybe nailing a girl, he was gonna look after a few whiny _kids._ The gods hated him. Hiccup's fist clenched, and he thought about Astrid. She had probably _requested_ this, just like her parents. Oh, when Spring Break ended, he was going to give her _hell._

* * *

"I am going to kill Hiccup," Ruffnut announced, giving Astrid a glass of water. She drank it up gratefully. "Tuff, any ideas?"

The male twin's eyes lit up. "We could fill his bag with cockroaches?"

"Where would you get the cockroaches?" Astrid asked, honestly curious. Her head still hurt, but talking to the twins would calm it. Or make it worse than ever. One or the other.

"My basement, duh."

Ruffnut and Tuffnut Thorston were her best friends. They had been there since Kindergarten, and ever since they had somehow turned her hair pink in second grade, they had been friends. That was a long, complicated story, and Astrid was not feeling up to replaying it in her head. But the twins, along with a quiet boy named Fishlegs, was who she spent her lunch with. They weren't a typical lot, her and Fishlegs were study _freaks,_ while everyone knew that the twins did not aim to get into any college. Ruffnut and her barely ever talked about guys or stuff like that, it was mostly about Ruff's latest prank, or listening to Astrid rant over her latest test and how she was certainly going to fail, much to the chagrin of the others, who knew perfectly well that she would pass with flying colors. But they were still friends, in a way.

Astrid got very panicked all of a sudden. "What time is it?"

Tuff took out his phone. "5:30. The nurse told us to leave but we told her to shove her nose up her -"

"We're in detention," Ruff hastily added.

"I missed the orphanage!" Astrid groaned in frustration, punching her own palm harshly.

"They love you, they're not going to fire you."

"Exactly. They love me. I let my group down."

"Hey," Ruff said quietly, "relax. They'll understand. Besides, you can spend all week with them now. Including weekday mornings. We might even stop by one day."

"As long as you're not cooking," Tuff said seriously.

She had an urge to punch him, but right now, her head hurt too bad. They were right, at the very least. She _did_ have the whole Spring Break. And nothing was going to get in her way. It wasn't like Hiccup Haddock was going to magically get a job at the orphanage. Astrid had absolutely nothing to worry about.

 **I have a headcanon that the twins and Fishlegs were Astrid's friends in Modern AUs, if you disagree, ah well, not my problem. Hope you like this as it progresses!**


	2. Chapter 2

The orphanage always smelled like firewood, which was very pleasant, and old people, which wasn't exactly pleasant, but wasn't terrible either. At the side of the entrance room sat a woman typing away at her computer. She looked up and saw Astrid, and a frown appeared on her lips. "Where were you yesterday? The kids missed you."

"I know, I'm sorry." She winced and walked up to the hooks on the wall, slinging her bag off and putting it on. It had her phone too, for Astrid did not like to be distracted when she was with the kids. Her full attention was with them, and she never made them feel inadequate. "Some idiot hit me with a basketball yesterday. I was out of it for a while."

"Kids these days." The woman shook her head and pursed her lips together tightly. "I get scared sometimes. Ah well, your group is waiting for you. I was thinking you could take them some places over the break, like the zoo. Oh, and Astrid?"

She was already walking towards the stairs when her name was called. She turned back. "Yes?"

"There's a new guy upstairs. He's doing community service."

Astrid groaned audibly, because for one thing, new recruits were always a pain in the neck unless their heart was actually into it. She pushed her bangs out of her face and sighed, making her way upstairs and immediately, was rammed into by a small figure. She looked down and smiled warmly.

"Hey, Stormfly!"

The girl showed her a wide gap-toothed grin before raising her arms, and Astrid complied, picking her up. "How's my favorite little dragon?"

"Good," the little girl chirped happily, "but we missed you yesterday! And Astrid…" She lowered her voice, as though sharing a secret. "Someone else is here, but he hasn't talked to us. He's just...sitting there. On his phone."

Of course. It was one of _those_ kids. Well, this would be difficult. On one hand, she could just let the guy be, and take care of the kids herself. That was the preferable option, but...she would be lying if she said she couldn't use a little help. And she didn't want the kids to feel neglected, ever. So she went inside the wide room, Stormfly still in hand, to greet the newcomer and make him work.

And she nearly dropped the child in her arms.

While not having ever hung out with him, Astrid recognized the very distinctable mop of brown hair and her stomach churned at the sight. It _was_ Hiccup Haddock, he was actually sitting there, on his phone, and Astrid gasped loudly (and slightly dramatically, she later thought) because this could not be real. No, she had to be hallucinating. How could Hiccup be _here?_

* * *

So far, so good. None of the kids had bothered talking to him, and the only one who he really noted was one who looked a bit more older than the others staring quietly at him, but he was swiftly ignored as the teen texted Camicazi and told her how horrible his predicament was. And then he heard a gasp and looked up. Astrid Hotshot Hofferson was gaping at him. Oh, was _she_ the volunteer the lady downstairs told him about? This was going to be one hell of a fun week.

"Hofferson," he greeted mockingly, tipping his head. She put down the kid she was holding and walked right up to him, hissing.

"What are you doing here?"

He pretended to think for a while, intending on annoying her as much as possible. "I'm doing community service for hitting some know-it-all with a basketball. I'll be here all week, milady."

"Are you kidding me?" Her hands balled into fists. " _This_ is your punishment? You're going to be here for a week? _With_ me?"

"I know, it sucks." He reached out and lifted Astrid's chin up. "But hey, we can still make the best of this week. You and me could -"

Whoever said that a girl's grip was not tight was the biggest liar in the universe. Because when Astrid squeezed his wrist with a furious glare, it _was_ tight. His arm was going to fall off if she didn't stop.

" _Don't_ ," she threatened, leaning in closer, "now, let's get a few things straight here." She twisted his arm and he hissed in pain. "I'm in charge here, not you. And you are _not_ going to make these kids feel like you have something way better to do than look after them with all your attention." She twisted harder, and a cry of pain actually escaped his lips. "You are going to help me, you are going to watch over them for the week, and then I don't want them to see your face ever again. Got it?"

"I got it, I got it, would you let go?" He pulled and she released his wrist. He rubbed it, scowling at her. She looked down, unimpressed. Okay, so he wasn't the best at things involving physical strength. At least Hiccup had never been hit by a basketball, and he was still very proud that Astrid couldn't say the same.

"And don't touch me."

He stood up, leering over her. She was quite short compared to him, and he was thankful, because it was one advantage he had over her. Clearly, she was the stronger between the two.

Astrid clapped her hands. "Kids, come over and introduce yourselves!"

The little girl who had been in Astrid's arms ran up first; obviously a suckup. "My name is Stormfly, um…"

"Mr. Haddock," Astrid provided but he scowled and shook his head.

"Hiccup." Mr. Haddock was his dad and probably always would be. "Stormfly?"

Astrid sighed. "Your _real_ name, kiddo."

The girl blushed. "Sylvie. But my nickname is Stormfly. I am five years old." She smiled brightly, and Hiccup smiled back in response; she _was_ pretty adorable.

Next in line was a boy with flaming red hair. He walked right up to Hiccup and said loudly, " _My_ name is Henry, but you can call me Hookfang. I'm five too." He made a fist at Hiccup. "And don't make Astrid upset!"

Oh, he saw the smirk on Astrid's face. Yeah, a kid was defending her, how _scary._ He. Was. Shaking.

Up stepped another girl, who offered him a shy smile. "My name is Maria, but my nickname is…" She sighed. "Meatlug."

 _Must. Not. Laugh._

Then there were two twin boys. Together, they exclaimed, "Barf and Belch!"

Hiccup, holding back laughter, asked, "What?"

"Real names, guys!"

"Nope," claimed one, and he ran off, his twin brother right beside him, "too bad, suckah!"

He actually laughed now, because Astrid looked so exasperated, it was funny. "Their names are Danny and Randy."

"That sounds nothing like Barf and Belch."

"I know."

He smirked at her as the last kid stepped up. He was the one who had been watching him earlier. He had shaggy black hair that fell into his eyes. He spoke quietly. "I'm Nigel, but these guys call me Toothless. Nice to meet you." And then he turned to Astrid. "Can I please sit out today?"

Her brows were furrowed concernedly. "Of course." She reached over and ruffled his hair, smiling lightly. "What do you want for lunch today?"

The boy shrugged, and Astrid sighed again. He went back to where he was, a corner, and sank down against the wall, watching quietly. Sylvie - Stormfly - went over to him and tugged on his arm, but he just grimaced and shook his head.

"Ah, he just doesn't like newcomers very much."

There was a bitter tone in her voice, and Hiccup knew what that meant. _She_ didn't want him here either.

Hiccup honestly...did not give a damn about what either of them wanted.

 **Writing Hiccup like this is so fun. Next up, playtime! At first, I was going to make OCs, but then I realized that it would be so fun to make the dragons into little kids instead.**

 **...I'm sorry.**


	3. Chapter 3

**To the guest who asked, "** **Would hiccup with tis kind of attitude really be weaker than nerdstrid?": The thing is, his personality is OOC but most everything else is the same. While I believe that Hiccup and Astrid are both equally matched come HTTYD 2 in terms of strength, there were kids present and adults downstairs, and he realizes he was being a jerk (he enjoys it haha), so you could say that he kinda let her twist his arm. Don't worry, we will get some strong Hiccup moments. In this chapter, in fact :)**

Hiccup watched quietly as the kids played. He did not join in, nor did anyone ask him to. Something told him that Astrid wasn't playing like she normally did, because everyone was looking horribly bored, but it was more fun usually, because the kids were definitely attached to her. Obviously, it was because of him that she was holding back. He was a thorn in her side, and he knew it. And he was fine with it.

Finally, the red haired boy - Fanghook? Hookfang? Yeah, that was it - groaned and fell back on his back. "Astrid, I'm _bored."_

The other girl, the one with the ridiculous meat name and peach blonde hair, spoke up. "Hookfang, be patient."

" _You_ be patient," the boy shot back, crossing his arms and sticking his tongue out. The girl sighed and smoothed out the dress she was wearing. Pushover.

His eyes fluttered back to where Toothless was sitting as Astrid chided the redhead, The boy was watching them, not with disgust or anything very emo, but more wistfully, as though he wanted to join them but something was stopping him. The boy looked away and then met _his_ gaze, and Hiccup looked away.

When it was _finally_ time for lunch, thank God, Hiccup got out his phone and the kids went downstairs. Only to see a bunch of missed calls and texts. Astrid sauntered up to him. Without looking up, he merely asked, "Come to break my arm?"

"No," she coolly replied, putting a hand on her hip; he saw and smirked, "but would you at least _pretend_ to care about them?"

Hiccup put his phone on the side and stood up, meeting her glare head on. She didn't look down, didn't back up. Well, at least it could be said that Astrid was stubborn. She brushed her bangs out of her face and leered closer to his face defiantly.

"Listen, Hotshot." He spat the words out, grabbing her wrist. She pulled against him, but he held on, intent on getting her back for what she did earlier. "I didn't want to be here, but _your parents_ insisted that I get punishment. I can do whatever the hell I want." He didn't twist her arm but squeezed it hard, which apparently had no affect on her, for she responded with an equal amount of hate.

"No, you can't. Don't you have a heart or something?" Astrid pulled on her arm again to no avail. "These kids...you don't know what it feels like to - to not be wanted by a parent."

Oh, if only she knew exactly how many times he had felt that. Every glare, every word he could remember his dad saying to him, had always been full of disappointment and a little regret. And it hurt. Every single fucking time, it hurt. But Astrid wasn't done.

'You walk around like you own the world when in reality you're just a spoiled little rich kid who has no regard for anyone around him because his nose is so far up his ass that he -"

 _Smack._

His hand stung, and for a second Hiccup didn't realize what happened. And then he saw Astrid's head tilted to the side and the red mark on her face, and his stomach sunk horribly. Immediately, he let go. He'd _slapped_ her. Sure, he had hit her with a basketball, but...there was a big difference in directly hitting her. And even though there was no teacher around, doing something like this without Heather, Snotlout, or Camicazi behind him instilled a fear that he hadn't realized was there. His fist clenched.

"Astrid -"

"I thought my name was Hotshot?" and the fear in his stomach grew. There was an unmistakable rage in her voice, and her fists were clenched to match his. She wasn't looking up, but he saw a few tears prickling at the corner of her eyes and he wondered just how hard he had hit her. At least she had immediately become unconscious after the basketball incident.

"Listen, I - I…" He ran a hand through his hair. "Listen, I didn't mean to do that. You - you got me riled up, and - and…"

"Oh, so this is my fault?" she snapped, looking up furiously, hands shaking and tears threatening to fall. "I suppose you hitting me with a basketball was my fault too. Oh yeah, I was just _asking_ for it." She raised her fist and he closed his eyes as it made contact with his shoulder. Hard. "I told you…" she gasped out, a few tears slipping down her cheeks. "I told you _not to touch me!"_ She put her hands in her hair, and for the first time, he was seeing something triggering in Astrid Hofferson that he had not seen before. "Just - just get out, Hiccup!" She pointed to the door. "Get out. Please." Her voice cracked.

Hiccup did not know what his violence had done, did not know why she was reacting so horribly to it. Yes, he knew it was bad, _really_ bad, but if he had slapped Heather like this then she would have punched him a few more times, but she wouldn't have cried. If he had slapped Cami, she would have cussed him out, but she wouldn't have cried. He didn't know what to do.

So he hugged her, something he had never done with any of his female friends ever. Hiccup was not a hugging person.

Astrid's body stiffened. She did not push against him, but continued to cry. It was a pathetic sight. Her cheek was red, thanks to him, and her bangs were stuck to her wet face, making it look as though she had just come in from the rain.

"I'm...sorry," he mumbled quietly, not used to it, "listen, I'll - I won't do that again, ever. I - I…" He struggled to come up with something that would make her feel better. "I'll play with the kids. I'll be nice to them. That - uh - that Hookfang kid is cute. And so is the storm girl. Dammit, just stop crying!"

At this, she cried harder. Hiccup silently cursed in frustration.

"Astrid, please? I don't know how to deal with this!"

"Then don't!" she cried out, now pushing him back. "Just get out!"

"No, listen, I can't. They'll - they'll put me in something worse, and - I don't know." He bit his lip. "Please. I'll never touch you again, I'll play with the kids, I'll listen to you. Please."

Astrid threw him a clearly disgusted look. It was now he realized that what he said sounded very desperate, and pleading.

"You're a dirty little -"

"I know, I know. Just…" He stopped mid sentence to look at the door, where Toothless was standing. The boy had a deep frown on his face. Astrid turned around, gasped, and then hastened to wipe her eyes with her sleeve.

"T-Toothless? I'll be down in a sec, I just -"

"Don't hurt Astrid," the boy said softly, and then a bit louder, "I won't let you hurt Astrid." Ignoring both their gaping faces, he walked up to them and pulled his caretaker out by the arm, and she glanced back at Hiccup with a look that he didn't know what to make of. She was clearly surprised by the kid's actions. He muttered as he pulled her out, and she did not struggle.

"Not Astrid."

 **Okay, I KNOW Astrid is not that sensitive. Everything will be explained, her and Hiccup both have their reasons for doing what they're doing. And of course, you'll get Toothless's story too. Maybe all the kids. Thanks for reading!**


	4. Chapter 4

**Modern AU. Jerkcup/Nerdstrid. After getting knocked out, Astrid could only hope that she was beginning to imagine things. Because being stuck with Hiccup Haddock for a week HAS to be a delusion...right? Rated T for language and sexual references.**

 **My** _ **gosh**_ **, I wished I hadn't started this story, because while I still love the concept, I am so much more excited for Dead of Night. Eep. Definitely not abandoning this, though.**

"Astrid? Astrid. Astrid. _Astrid._ Astrid!"

"Hmm, what?" She pushed the bangs out of her face to look up at her mother, who was wearing a cold expression.

"Get the plates ready, will you? Honestly, just sitting around all day doesn't do anything."

The girl cringed and nodded, biting back the smart reply on her tongue. She went into the kitchen, still deep in thought.

Hiccup Haddock had slapped her. It was bad enough that anyone had the audacity to do that, but then he told her not to cry on top of it too. And then there was Toothless. Who she had known for three years and who had stuck up for her today. A child who barely spoke to her had pulled her away from her offender. With a grumble, she set the plates. Her mother did not say thank you.

After dinner, Astrid flopped back onto bed, clenching her fists. The day just couldn't go well. Now, the pressing question was if she was going to get Hiccup kicked out tomorrow. The obvious answer would be yes. Definitely. He deserved it, and there would be no loss on her part.

But then he had apologized. He had been frantic, and she knew it wasn't because he was actually sorry, but because he didn't want to do anything harder or get suspended. Still, he had hugged her. And said he would listen from now on. If she got him kicked out, there was a good chance he would get her back for it, and she didn't want to be hit by a basketball again anytime soon.

 _That_ was the truth. She would be lying if she said she wasn't afraid of Camicazi Burglar coming to her house at night with a baseball bat for getting her friend suspended.

Then again, she'd also be lying if the thought of Hiccup slapping her like that again didn't terrify her the exact same amount. It demonstrated that he held power over her, something that was absolutely ridiculous. She was definitely stronger. Astrid cursed herself for crying when he had slapped her; what if it made him think she was some weak...thing?

What to do now?

* * *

 _I didn't mean to slap her. Honest, it was just...she was there, being all Hotshot Hofferson as usual. Showing off and the like. I mean, she twisted my arm for Pete's sake. Why is me slapping her any different? Just cause she's a girl doesn't mean she should be allowed to walk all over me._

He closed his laptop with a sigh. Oh, it didn't matter whether it was right or not, it was up to her, wasn't it? His punishment rested on her hands. Hiccup flopped onto the bed.

His father had come upstairs. Forcefully, he had smiled. "How was the orphanage?"

"Great," the boy had drawled out. He knew that once he was suspended or something, then his dad would find out and freak, but for now, he couldn't take a lecture about whether this was what his mother would have wanted and the like.

He could hear his dad now, walking about downstairs and talking to someone on the phone. Hiccup trudged over and closed the door. He sighed as he thought about what his dad must think of him. Without looking, he pressed Play on the music app and it started playing "Stick to the Status Quo" from High School Musical.

Hiccup threw his phone across the room onto the bed.

And then it buzzed with a text. He picked it up, scowling, expecting it to be Snotlout, but it was an unknown number. If this was some porn website…

 _This is Astrid_ , it said. The first question was how she had gotten his number, but then there was a second text, which left a whole bunch of new questions.

 _I'm not telling on you_

 _You better not do it again_

 _But I'll give you one more chance_

 _Tomorrow, don't f up_

Miracles could happen. Hiccup sighed in relief and sank down on the bed, his head hitting the pillow tiredly. There were a thousand more problems, but that was one down, and he felt sleepy when the pressure left his shoulders. His phone buzzed again. Astrid had sent him one more text.

 _Or I will make it my personal mission to kill you, or worse, expel you_

 **Hooray for HP references!**


	5. Chapter 5

**A guest asked on HMISYM if I was going to update this and here's your answer!**

Sweaters were a blessing to all humankind, because looking at her heavy winter jacket made her want to throw up on the spot, it was so overbearing. Since she didn't have light jackets, sweaters were the next best thing.

As soon as she came in, there was Hiccup. He had been looking at the achievement board. When he turned and saw her, they both let out a simultaneous sigh. Astrid knew this would not be easy in the slightest. It was Hiccup, after all. And was he _trying_ to set a bad example for the kids? He was wearing a red leather jacket, with a green shirt inside. His hair was tousled up stupidly. Why did him and his gang have to do stuff with their hair? Except Camicazi. She didn't seem to know what a hairbrush was. One time, she remembered Snotlout called her out on it loudly in front of everyone, and Cami had jumped him and given him a fist to the face.

"What are you wearing?" she asked tiredly, expecting him to give her a smart reply back, but he shrugged, seeming just as tired and fed up as she was.

"I just threw a few things on, that's all."

Her blood boiled. Just seeing him there automatically made her upset, but now he had the nerve to act as though he was fed up with her? Wasn't _she_ was the one making sacrifices here? But no, she wasn't going to yell at him. She was going to be the better person and ignore him. And he was going to listen to her.

"Leave your phone here," she commanded, pointing to his jacket and then the hooks.

"Why?"

She didn't hesitate to snap back. "Because when those kids expect attention, they get a jerk obsessed with his phone. It kind of kills the mood."

Hiccup narrowed his eyes at her, but he obeyed and slipped his jacket off and put his phone in the pocket before walking up the stairs. Astrid's heart hammered loudly; could he hear it? She kept replaying what had happened yesterday in her head. It wasn't hard for him to just raise his hand and...hurt her. Why did she keep pushing him to do it again?

Upstairs, she saw all the kids and Hiccup engaged in the most awkward staring contest she had ever witnessed. She cleared her throat. Everyone turned to face her and she clapped her hands together.

"Okay, guys! What do you wanna do today?"

Barf raised a hand. "I wanna know why Hiccup is still here."

The teens exchanged a fast look and Astrid laughed - a fake one, but she did not want the kids to see how worried she was about the same thing. New recruits usually stayed a day or two; it made sense that the kid would be wondering about that. "Because he wants to help, of course! Alright, what about...Simon Says?"

Only Meatlug looked happy. The girl positively glowed with delight at the thought of playing something that didn't involve hitting, tagging, or kicking. Astrid glanced at Toothless in the corner. The ten year old met her gaze and then looked away, as though he didn't know what he was thinking yesterday.

The rest of the kids nonetheless stood up, and then Hiccup leaned over to her. For a second she panicked, thinking he was going to threaten her, hiss something at her, but he merely whispered, "What do I do?"

Right, right, he wasn't going to say anything threatening because he didn't want to get suspended, or expelled. She crossed her arms over her chest. "Go first. This way, they'll be more comfortable with you."

She may have just sentenced him to his death.

* * *

Hiccup stared at the blonde with half horror and half desperation, but she didn't look like she was going to change her mind, so he gulped, cleared his throat, and said to the kids, who were lined up (except Toothless, who was still sitting in the corner). "Um, er, Simon says...clap your hands?"

They all complied, all looking dull, except M-M...whatever pushover girl's name was. She did so happily. And that was how it went, with him giving random stupid orders and the kids clearly thinking they were boring, but doing them anyway. And then finally, he didn't say Simon.

"Tap your head."

None of them did. Smart kids. Astrid snorted quietly next to him. He narrowed his eyes.

"Simon says tackle Astrid!"

The boy didn't think they would actually do it, but they _did._ Ignoring Astrid's yelp of protest, the girl who was so fond of her rammed into her first, and the other kids followed until they were all a pile on the floor. Besides his own laughter and the kids' he could hear Toothless's laughter as well. He looked at the boy, who in turn cleared his throat and looked away. Not a talker, then.

When Hotshot did get up, she was laughing too.

He instantly preferred it to her crying. That had been a disaster.

From there, Astrid was Simon, and her first command, obviously, was to tackle him. Even though they were much more hesitant, the kids did it, and Hiccup found the wind being knocked out of him, but in a good way.

Simon must have ordered him to have an almost good time.

 **Okay, here's the thiiing. School started, but in no way does that mean I am abandoning any of my stories, or even going on hiatus. I've dropped lunch, but I** _ **do**_ **have study hall, and that's a great time for me to type away! There's still setbacks, though. I might be doing my homework (I am one of those people who do it in school). I might not have access to a computer. All these things. But I swear, I'm doing my best.**


	6. Chapter 6

_A isolated staircase leading up to the town square. Dark and the perfect place to drink away your problems._

"And here's to Hiccup," Camicazi said dramatically, standing up and holding a bottle above her head, "for being brave enough to spend a week with Hotshot Hofferson."

They all laughed. Camicazi wasn't drunk yet, when she was, then there would be a lot more cursing and a lot less praising. But she _was_ tipsy, and her dirty blonde hair was strewn around her face.

Heather cheered and took a swig. She didn't get easily wasted. Nor did Cami, or Hiccup, for that matter. Snotlout was the only one who could drink a few cups and then start singing the SpongeBob theme song.

"So how is she, Hiccup?" his cousin asked, and all three of his friends looked at him. "A nightmare?"

"A nightmare?" Cami mocked, smirking. "He says it as though he doesn't have a crush on her."

Snotlout stood up angrily, pointing at her. Heather and Hiccup exchanged wary glances as he shouted, "I don't like her!"

"Sure you do." Cami waved at him nonchalantly. "Almost all the guys in our school do. And some of the girls too, amiright, Heather?" She nudged the black haired girl, who blushed fiercely.

Hiccup laughed. "Camicoo, I think our little Heather can do better than that." He grinned slyly at Heather, who hit his shoulder. They both looked up at Cami, who didn't seem to have noticed this interaction. Either that or she was ignoring it, which everyone knew she could do.

"But seriously, Hiccup, what's she like?" Heather asked, now apparently determined to change the subject.

Hiccup hesitated. It wasn't exactly that he was scared to badmouth Astrid, but every time he did, the image of her crying just entered his mind.

He shrugged. "She's just...you know. Hotshot as usual."

"Nothing embarrassing?" Cami asked, now trying to see if she could balance on one foot at the edge of the stairs.

"No."

He didn't mind lying. These guys were his best friends and all, but he was sure that he had been lied to more than once by each of them. There was no hesitation.

* * *

 _An old cafe, with a broken neon sign, but the best smoothies you can find anywhere and the obvious hangout._

"Alright, but imagine this, Cap unfreezes Bucky -"

"Nope."

"It could happen!"

"Tuff," Astrid said firmly, "I _know_ you ship Cap and Bucky, but they froze him for his own protection!"

Fishlegs put her hand up. "I believe that Nat and Cap like each other."

"Thank you," Astrid said with a pointed look at Tuffnut, who did not seem to care.

"Uh, bro? How did these two make us so nerdy that we're discussing the Avengers and their relationships?" Ruff seemed horrified with everyone. "You guys must have put something in our drink!"

Fishlegs rolled his eyes. "You guys worship Loki anyway."

The twins grinned.

Fishlegs coughed into his fist after a long, awkward silence. "So, Astrid...uh, ready for the math test?"

"Oh, come _on_ , Fishlegs," Ruffnut drawled, rolling her eyes, "don't beat around the fucking bush. Astrid, tell us about Hiccup."

"It's only been a day," she responded, rubbing her forehead, "there isn't much to tell."

"Bullshit."

The two blondes had a staring contest, during which Fishlegs squeaked nervously and Tuffnut picked a scab on his knee, bored.

"I mean it!" Astrid rolled her eyes. "Seriously, he's just..I don't even know. One second he's quiet, then he's saying something stupid." She reconsidered her words. "But today he did try to play with the kids, and they seemed to like him, so that's an improvement."

Ruff snorted. "Yeah, from a T-rex to a velociraptor."

* * *

It was pleasant to walk home alone. Not that she didn't like her friends. But they could be a bit much at times, what with questioning her about Hiccup and all. And the weather was nice. Only a light breeze was in the air, and the most it did was blow her bangs in her eyes.

As she brushed them away for the hundredth time that night, she saw a familiar figure about five feet from her, and immediately wished she hadn't.

It was Hiccup, of course. He was standing against a stop sign, and when he saw her, there was a horrible moment where she thought he was going to do seriously bad things to her.

But he just gave her a nod and asked, "What are you doing out?"

"I fail to see why that's any of your business." She continued walking and suddenly had a strange urge to hug herself. Then she stopped before crossing the street and turned around. "Oh, we're taking the kids to the zoo tomorrow. I was gonna text you, but since you're here…" She shrugged, feeling like an idiot when he didn't respond.

But as soon as she had crossed the road, Hiccup called out behind her, "Be careful - Dagur would love to find you walking like this alone at night."

Astrid turned around, either to thank him for the warning or to tell him off for his obvious hint that she couldn't take care of herself, but he was already walking the other way around, and she realized that he was right.

That was her reasoning for not saying anything back, at any rate.

 **I updated this too! And my four day weekend ends tomorrow, so...THIS WILL BE THE LAST YOU EVER HEAR OF THIS...UPDATE THING**

 **JK, I hope I can still write. Anyway, how was this chapter? Dagur will eventually make his appearance, and I'm excited about that!**


	7. Chapter 7

**To Kellen: Four to eight chapters? I honestly can't say how long this will be. Like, I have a story, and I know what's going to happen, but in which chapters and the details are never planned out. I'm just lazy like that (also I have zip time to do it). XD This Hiccstrid IS awful. Hopefully, this chapter makes it a bit better wink wink. And as always, thank you! *-* Your reviews are still wonderful! (This one and the one you did on Heart Drowns. I love ya.)**

The last time Hiccup had been to the zoo was when he was five, and it was one of the most horrible experiences he had ever had. It had been a field trip, and this was when he only hung out with Snotlout, because they were cousins. Only recently had Snotlout begun to respect him; when they were kids he had shoved Hiccup's face in the lion cage and told him that lions would eat him.

Hiccup shivered. Even today he was scared of lions. He was not looking forward to this trip.

Astrid's attire consisted of a blue T-shirt and jeans, along with a short skirt. He had worn his signature red leather jacket, with a black shirt inside. Not missing his co-worker's scowl, they all piled into one of the vans the orphanage owned, where Barf and Belch sat in the middle two seats, and the other four squeezed in behind, with Stormfly sitting on Toothless's lap.

And then there was the who-would-drive debate.

"I always drive," Astrid muttered with gritted teeth. She was glaring at him.

Hiccup sighed, rubbing his forehead. "Well, today there's two of us, Hotshot. And I feel like driving."

"Do you _have_ to call me that?" She looked completely indignant. "I am not a hotshot, for your information, Haddock."

"Please, can I just drive? See, I said please. You can drive on the way back."

She made sure none of the kids were watching, and then gave him the middle finger before getting in the passenger seat. Hiccup smirked.

The zoo was not that far away, and they arrived in ten minutes. It was, however, a big zoo, with petting sites and feeding sites, and a site where you got to ride a horse. Hiccup looked at the six kids.

"Uh...what do we do?"

"Split up, duh." She waved an arm. "Whenever I go to the zoo with them, I take someone with me. A senior worker. But since you're here instead…"

Astrid's attitude was getting on his nerves. She said she wasn't a hotshot, but her tone suggested that she thought of herself quite highly. She kept acting like he was a spare, an extra, the same way his dad treated him. And he didn't like it. She knew nothing about him.

"So you take...Toothless and the twins, and I'll take Stormfly, Meatlug, and Hookfang. Okay?" She looked at him, and he was only half listening to her. " _Okay?"_

"Huh. Yeah, okay, okay. Uh, come on, guys." He gestured to one side, and Astrid went the other. Her shoulders were straight. Oh, she was tense. Oh, she was worried. _Oh_ , the lady at the desk must have told her that she could not manage all the kids alone. Otherwise, Astrid truly would have. He was sure of it.

Barf and Belch ran to the monkeys, grinning. Toothless, as Hiccup expected, stayed behind and watched. Hiccup stepped up to him.

"Not an animal person?"

The boy shook his head silently, his dark hair swaying back and forth.

Yeesh. Not even a "no, I'm not" or a "bug off." This kid was kinda weird. Then again, he himself hadn't been the biggest talker either. And this kid was an orphan. He did have a right to be silent.

Belch (or Barf) ran back to him. "Can we go ride the horses?"

Hiccup looked up to where he was pointing. "Uh…"

"Please!" Barf (or was it Belch?) dropped to his knees dramatically. "Please let us go?"

Damn these kids. They were all pretty cute. At least the twins had a mischievous spark under their pleading faces. Hook boy looked like he might actually start crying really loudly if you told him no, Meat girl would just take it and make you feel guilty, and Storm girl's lip would start quivering. Well, that was what he thought. And he couldn't see Toothless crying.

So they went over to the horses. Toothless was offered a ride, and of course he declined. So the twins went, whooping and laughing as they rode. While they rode, Hiccup noticed the ten year old watching a black horse intently.

"Do you like that one?"

He looked up in surprise. "Um...I - uh…"

"I don't bite, you know," Hiccup said honestly, looking down at him, "look, I know you don't like me cause I hurt Astrid and all, but I swear that was a one time thing. I'll never do it again. So come on, tell me. You like the horse?"

Toothless nodded, slowly. "But...um, I can't...ride on it," he responded, looking like it pained him to say it.

"Why not?"

He pointed to a sign next to the horse that said that "Night Fury" was only for fifteen and above.

"Oh." Hiccup winced. "Sorry, bud. Tough luck." He patted his shoulder awkwardly. "Uh, once Barch and Belf - I mean Barf and Belch," he corrected, although Toothless's lips quirked upwards in a small smile, "once they're done we could go see something else."

"Why don't...you...ride it?"

"Me?"

Hiccup looked at the horse again. It reminded him of the lions, the ones that had lazily watched him when Snotlout shoved his face in the cage. He shook his head. "Uh, no."

Barf and Belch returned, and one of them somehow scrambled up Toothless's back. For a ten year old boy, he was quite strong; he held the kid with ease.

"Toothless, Toothless, you _have_ to ride, dude!"

Toothless shook his head.

The twin who was not on Toothless's back looked to older boy. "Aren't you gonna ride, Hiccup?"

"Nah." He looked at the black horse again. "I'm good."

But they didn't stop pestering. It was either going to be him or Toothless, they argued, and Hiccup took one look at Toothless's face and relented, because the boy was looking so hopeless it was sad.

The ride was terrifying the first few seconds, but it got better. As soon as Hiccup learned what the horse liked and didn't like, he was riding properly. And oh hell, he was enjoying himself. It was exhilarating, with the wind rushing through him. It was great.

Toothless was looking at him with something like admiration when he got off (the zookeeper had to actually force him) and that made his pride swell all the more. The kid was happy.

When they walked by the lions, Hiccup stuck his hand in the cage.

* * *

"Bye, Toothless, Barf, Belch."

Astrid didn't miss that he said it to each individual separately. She scowled. It wasn't jealousy, she knew the kids loved her, loved her more than they loved a whole lot of people, but to see him so comfortable with them was infuriating nonetheless. The protective bubble inside her threatened to pop.

When they both stepped out, Astrid turned to her coworker. "Listen. You're gonna be here a week, don't get them so attached to you."

"Excuse me?" he asked, shooting her a sharp look. "You said be nice to them."

"I said be nice to them, I didn't say make them get so attached to you that it breaks their heart when you leave!" She narrowed her eyes. "You're still a jerk, Haddock. Don't think I've forgotten."

Hiccup scowled and took a step closer to her; she instinctively stepped back. "What the hell do you know about me, Hotshot? Nothing." He made a zero with his left hand. "So get over yourself and stop acting so fucking superior, will you!?"

They both froze, and they both knew why. One block away, whistling sounded, and they could make out Dagur "the Deranged" Oswald's form. Astrid's heart hammered. Her and Hiccup, along with the whole school, knew exactly where Dagur lived, and it was on the other side of Berk. That was where Heather lived, and the two were siblings, so it was a given. Even though Astrid doubted Dagur spent much time inside his house, this was why she didn't mind leaving the orphanage so late and why she had mildly been irritated with Hiccup's warning yesterday. Dagur never hung around here.

Immediately, Hiccup's body was crushing hers' against the wall. Astrid made to protest, he leaned down and whispered urgently, "Shut up, shut up, shut _up."_

She shut up.

If someone saw them, it would be assumed that they were kissing. His lips were horridly close to hers', but he wasn't kissing her. Good.

"Brother! Is that you?"

Hiccup turned around with a fake smile, gripping her hand tightly. "Dagur! It's been awhile since we talked. How's -"

"Is that Astrid Hofferson?" Dagur peered over Hiccup's shoulder straight at her. Shivers went up her spine, but it seemed that Hiccup was friendly with the maniac.

Hiccup's grip on her hand tightened. "Yeah, we were just having some fun."

"Good job!" Dagur hit his shoulder proudly. "You know, for a long time, I thought you were going to date Heather!"

"Of course not," Hiccup said smoothly. "She's a bit tired, I was just going to drop her off. I'll see you later, Dagur." Placing a hand on Astrid's back, he led her away from the orphanage, away from the block.

When they were a good distance away, Astrid held her head up. "I can go from here."

"Are you crazy?" Hiccup hissed back. "This is Dagur we're talking about. I wouldn't be surprised if he followed us." He cast a furtive glance over his shoulder. "I'm walking you home."

Astrid sighed, frustrated.

Hiccup let out a sigh of his own. "Listen, Dagur likes me, for whatever damn reason, as long as you're with me, he won't do anything to you."

"Fine," Astrid huffed, crossing her arms. "But you can get your hands off me."

He complied, and they walked to her house. It was uncomfortable knowing that Hiccup knew where her house was.

Before going in, she turned around, sighing. "Er...thanks. For that." And then feeling merciful, she added, "And for being nice to the kids before." She out a hand on her door. "We're going to the beach tomorrow. My friends are coming too."

"I don't get a kiss?" he asked teasingly, putting his hands in his pockets. "If we're gonna be that cheesy."

She smirked lightly and shook her head. "You wish. This is the first and last time I'll say thanks to you."

For a moment, he became serious. "Hopefully." Then a grin spread across his face. "Or not."

Astrid rolled her eyes, waved goodbye, and went inside where her mother was standing, arms crossed.

"Where have you been?" she asked darkly, dangerously.

"We went to the zoo," Astrid responded, lifting her chin and meeting the terrifying gaze head on.

"You're late." Her mother's fist clenched, and for a moment, she was ready to defend herself, but Mrs. Hofferson did nothing, only stared. As Astrid walked by, she gave her cheek a light smack that nonetheless stung.

"Don't do it again."

With that, Astrid trudged to her room, not letting the fear of her mother show, and flopped on the bed and under the covers.

It had been a long day.

 **Guess who's sick? This girlllll. Anyway, hope y'all liked it!**


	8. Chapter 8

**Modern AU. Jerkcup/Nerdstrid. After getting knocked out, Astrid could only hope that she was beginning to imagine things. Because being stuck with Hiccup Haddock for a week HAS to be a delusion...right? Rated T for language and sexual references.**

 **Moana inspired me to write. I saw it in theater, it was great!**

Hiccup had texted her that he would meet her on the beach, although Astrid didn't know why. She didn't bother finding out, because she wasn't complaining about getting some time with the kids to herself.

Well, herself, and Ruff, Tuff, and Fishlegs. Oh well. She'd rather be with her friends than with Hiccup. Even after what he did last night, the fact was that he wouldn't have been there if he hadn't thrown a basketball at her head.

Then again, would she have wanted to be alone when Dagur came along?

Astrid sighed. Her feelings made no sense. When she looked at Hiccup, she could tell that maybe there could be a friend in him, but then he would smirk or mess up his hair and her blood would boil. Never mind that Barf, Belch, and Toothless liked him now. _Toothless._ How did he get Toothless to like him in one day? Astrid had been trying for two years, and she felt that the boy only tolerated her. Except for that one show where he had pulled her away from Hiccup himself, Toothless never seemed to notice her efforts in getting to know him. And she didn't blame him either, because he had been through a lot. He was the only one whose history had not been shared with her. But still, what was so great about Hiccup?

" _Astrid_." Hookfang interrupted her thoughts, looking up at her impatiently. "I wanna go play."

She smiled at him amusedly, rubbing him with sunblock. "Alright, alright. But don't get too wet. I don't trust this 'water resistant' stuff."

Hookfang rolled his eyes. "Of course not. Trust is for suckers, right?"

She shook her head at him as he ran off, grinning with the last word. Barf and Belch were hard enough, they didn't stand still, and now Hookfang too?

Still, Astrid didn't complain. She loved her group.

Fishlegs was running around with Maria on his shoulders, Tuff was probably giving bad ideas to Barf and Belch, and Ruffnut was having a water fight with Hookfang. Even Toothless was in the water, albeit the very shallow end, and he was staring out to the sun. Stormfly was running in circles in the sand, until Astrid went over to her.

"Not playing with the others?" she asked gently, leaning down to her level. Stormfly shrugged, raising her arms. She picked the little girl up, rubbing noses with her.

"I don't like the water." She frowned. "I hate the water."

That wasn't true. Stormfly loved the water. Out of all the kids, she was the best swimmer. But she had learned recently that her parents had died by drowning. It had been a slip up from one of the workers, leaving a file with Stormfly's name on the file in the kids' room. Astrid could have strangled the worker when she saw her dragon crying the whole day next day. Stormfly had only been a baby when it happened.

Her group was really smart. Which was why none of them were told what had happened to them. Which was well enough, Astrid thought, none of them were pretty.

She looked back at Toothless. He was the only one whose past was a complete mystery to her. The orphanage withheld the information, saying it was "too graphic", and Astrid was still bitter. How was she supposed to help if she didn't know all the important stuff?

Lost in thought, she didn't notice the car pulling up in the driveway until she heard Camicazi Burglar's holler.

"Beachtime, ya'll!"

Astrid gaped as not only Camicazi and Hiccup, but Heather and Snotlout walked out of the car. All of them were dressed in their beach attire, and Camicazi jumped into the water without a second thought.

Stormfly whispered, "What's going on?"

"I'll find out," Astrid said through gritted teeth, setting Stormfly down and walking up to Hiccup, who was grinning broadly.

"What the hell is this?"

Hiccup raised an eye. "Uh...a beach." He snickered. She elbowed him, and the snickering stopped.

Astrid threw her hands up, exasperated. "Why are your friends here?"

"Yours are here too. You told me they would be, so I brought mine too." He pointed to Fishlegs, who still had Maria on his shoulders and was squealing as Snotlout followed Camicazi into the water. He scurried out, Maria bouncing.

"They know the kids." She crossed her arms, narrowing her eyes at him. "And what's more, I trust my friends."

Hiccup leaned down, getting closer to her face. "And I trust mine. What's your point?"

When Astrid didn't answer, only glared, he sighed. "Listen, Hotshot. We might not be angels, but we're not gonna do anything to kids, okay? If Tuffnut and Ruffnut Thorston can be trusted, so can Heather. So can Snotlout. So can Cami. And besides," he added, bitterness seeping into his words, "you owe me a favor after last night."

Astrid's eyes widened, and she hissed **(A/N: I accidentally typed kissed and I was like lol not yet)** , "Did you tell anyone about that?"

"No." He brushed by her. "Don't make me."

Astrid whipped around, and said loud enough so only he could hear, "Bastard."

Hiccup shot her a scowl, and was about to say something when Toothless ran up.

"Hey - hey, Hiccup," he said, a bit breathlessly. Then he looked down, as though he had done a great wrong by greeting him.

Hiccup grinned. "Hey, bud!"

And much to Astrid's astonishment, Toothless's face lit up like it was Christmas, and he beckoned Hiccup to the water. When he wasn't looking, Hiccup looked back at Astrid, and spoke flatly.

"You hold something over me, I hold something over you. Let's not let either of those things happen."

Astrid went back to Stormfly, who was staring at the newcomers, interested. "Tooth looks happy, Astrid!"

"I know," she muttered darkly. Stormfly looked up at her and she saw guilt flash over her face.

"Oh no, dragon, that wasn't for you." She leaned down and opened her arms, and Stormfly hugged her tightly. "I'm just a bit upset with Hiccup."

"Because he brought his friends?"

"Mmhm."

"That's funny."

Astrid looked up, and Camicazi was standing there, with her hands on her hips.

"That's funny, because you make it sound like Hiccup did this to annoy you. On purpose. That's not the case," she said to Stormfly, who looked up to Astrid.

She glared. "No one asked you, did they?"

Camicazi rolled her eyes. "And you're keeping the kid from swimming so you can complain to her?"

"No she's not," Stormfly said fiercely, before Astrid could say anything, "I don't like the water."

Camicazi raised an eye. "And why is that?"

"Stop," Astrid cut in sharply.

But Stormfly answered. Holding her chin up, she said bluntly, "My parents died by drowning when I was a baby."

And then there was a change in Camicazi that Astrid had never seen before. Her confident posture dropped, and her eyes softened. Stormfly must have noticed too, because she furrowed her brows and asked what was wrong.

"My...my father died by drowning, too." Camicazi swallowed, looking at Stormfly a bit hesitantly.

Both her and Astrid were looking at Camicazi, astonished. The messy haired girl was, for once, looking out of place.

"You don't have to hate the water," Camicazi said loudly, trying to cover up her brief moment of weakness, "I thought I did too. But I don't. I love the water - I can show you, if you want."

She extended her hand. Stormfly looked up at Astrid, asking for permission. Camicazi looked up too, and then looked down again, muttering, "I won't hurt her. I swear. But it's not fair for her to miss out on this."

Still a bit surprised, Astrid nodded, and Stormfly smiled shyly before going off with Camicazi. They went into the water, holding hands as Camicazi guided her slowly.

Looking around, Astrid saw that Camicazi wasn't the only one who wasn't horrible to the kids.

Snotlout and Hookfang - Hookfang? - were crouching down by the sand, and it looked like Snotlout was trying to teach the younger boy how to make a proper sandcastle. Her eyes focused on Hiccup, who was just walking with Toothless down the beach, talking. She saw Toothless smiling and her heart warmed, no matter who caused it, it was still great that he was happy.

Astrid didn't like admitting that she was wrong. But maybe, just maybe, it wasn't right to assume that all of them were jerks. But it wasn't right for them to assume she was a praise loving showoff. Not to mention throw a basketball at her.

The only one not doing anything was Heather. She was sitting on the sand, watching everyone else. Her eyes were dimmed; she looked upset.

But Astrid wasn't going to approach her. She had only talked to Heather Oswald once, and that had been when they were lab partners. The girl was really quiet. She wasn't loud like Snotlout and Camicazi were, and she wasn't snarky like Hiccup either. She was almost sweet. So why did she hang out with them?

It must be the influence from her brother, Astrid decided, she's cracked on the inside.

Instead of talking to a stranger, she went over to Ruffnut, and they talked for a bit about different things. But Astrid never took her eye off the kids, or Hiccup and his friends. Ruff even called her out on it, but she responded that she had to watch them.

None of the kids were going to be harmed on her watch.

* * *

Sunset came quickly. The kids had all fallen asleep inside the car (they were missing their naps this week thanks to all these little trips). Minus Toothless, of course. He softly declined when Astrid asked him.

Hiccup was tired. But in a good way. The way a day on the beach was supposed to feel. Not the way it was when his dad had brought him when he was younger.

He was really happy that Camicazi and Snotlout had had fun with the kids. And Heather - well, he knew why she couldn't enjoy herself, but she wasn't moping, which was good.

He had talked to Fishlegs a bit, and they were both surprised that they had quite a bit in common, including some TV shows. Hiccup had never told his friends about his obsession with Gravity Falls, but Fishlegs brought up that he watched it, and soon they were talking about characters like they were the creators.

Astrid was a different matter. They were adamantly not speaking to each other. Hiccup didn't like it when anyone assumed things about his friends. The nagging voice at the back of his head told him that he had thought Fishlegs might not even know what a TV was, but he had been proven wrong.

Okay, so him and Astrid both had a slight problem.

Heather was the one who approached him about it - she just casually walked up and said, "You should ask them to hang out sometime."

Hiccup looked at her accusingly. "Don't tell me you like Astrid now."

"My heart belongs to Camicoo and you know it." She rolled her eyes as Hiccup grinned. "You should be relieved, Hic. I'm not stealing your future girlfriend."

"Oh, so Hotshot is my future girlfriend now?" he asked scathingly, nudging her arm.

Heather laughed, her head falling on his shoulder. His grin widened, and he kissed the top of her head.

"Oh, you know, throwing basketballs at people. The first sign to love."

They both laughed softly, and Hiccup looked over to Astrid, who was packing the van up with the twins. Heather followed his gaze.

"I don't mean to get all buddy-buddy with them," she explained, finding his hand and squeezing it. "But you guys both like these kids. And she's curious about us too, I saw the way she was looking at ask her and her friends to hang out with us. Once."

Hiccup bit his lip as Astrid talked to Ruffnut, her blonde bangs falling into her eyes. He kissed Heather's forehead as she relaxed into him.

"Maybe I will."

 **GIVE ME ALL THE HEATHCUP FRIENDSHIP**

 **Sorry for the long wait, but at least it's a longer chapter! (2000 words is a big deal for me okay)**


	9. Chapter 9

"Astrid? Hey, Astrid. Astrid. Astrid."

"I'm listening," Astrid said tiredly, slinging her bag over her shoulder, "what?"

Now that Hiccup actually had her attention and they were alone, he didn't know what to say exactly. Heather said they should hang out. But how to ask her without it being awkward?

"Um...hey?"

She glared at him, leaving the orphanage. Hiccup ran after her, feeling the pleasant cool air across his face. He started walking next to her.

"You sure you don't need me tonight?"

Astrid snorted. "It was one night you walked me home and it was because Dagur considers you his brother. If he didn't like you, I don't think you could take him."

Ouch. Her words were biting and true. But there was no need to say it like that.

"Rude," he commented, throwing her a grin. He was used to it, after all. Responding to mean words with jokes and/or sarcasm. It usually worked, and this was another example. "So, hey, listen, I - Heather, actually, was wondering if you wanted to hang out somewhere."

Finally, she stopped, turning to him with a quizzical expression. "Heather Oswald wants to hang out with me?"

"More like she wants everyone to hang out with everyone." Hiccup shrugged. "You, me, your friends, my friends."

"I'll bring it up with the twins and Fishlegs. You're still walking me home," she said idly, looking a little irritated, "stop it."

"I knew the damsel needed her - ow!" He rubbed his arm, and glared at her. "You really need to learn to take a joke."

Her punch had hurt. It was a wonder how a basketball had knocked her out, it felt as though Astrid was made of steel. Then he remembered that he had thrown it pretty hardly, and at her head at that.

"I don't need to learn anything, you dweeb." That insult actually made him smile, although it was probably because she was smiling as well when she said it. They arrived at her house, and before she left Hiccup grabbed her hand.

"Hey."

"What?"

"Um…" His cheeks turned slightly red and she looked genuinely curious. "Are we going somewhere tomorrow?"

"To the park." She tugged on his hand, but he held onto her hand firmly, though not unkindly.

Hiccup looked into her eyes. They were gazing, very intrigued, and he marvelled at the fact that even in the dark, her eyes shone bright. They were one of a kind.

"Thanks."

Astrid looked like she was about to ask what for, so he left her hand and started walking the other direction without looking back. His face suddenly felt very hot, was that just the warmth from her hand seeping through him? Probably.

He wasn't across the block when he heard a small bang.

Hiccup turned around again, furrowing his brows. That had been from Astrid's house. When he walked closer again, he saw through the window what was going on.

A woman - Astrid's mother, he assumed, from her similar hair and shoulder structure - was standing next to the wall, and Astrid was in front of her, and they were both screaming. Every time her mother said anything, she banged the wall. If Astrid started banging too, the wall would probably come down.

That was strange. Wasn't she her parents' little pride and joy? Hotshot Hofferson was probably anyone's dream daughter, she was smart, studious, serious, and rather stunning too. Not a troublemaker.

Unlike him. His dad hated him. With a passion, probably. But Hiccup drank, he played pranks, he got detention. Astrid was a...well, she was everything his dad would ever want.

He sincerely hoped she wasn't being abused. That wasn't fun, that was horrifying. But from what it looked like, only the wall was getting hurt.

At any rate, unless there was a basketball involved, Astrid Hofferson could take care of herself.

* * *

"Son," Stoick greeted, sitting by the kitchen table, "you're late, no?"

"I was walking someone home," he mumbled, not really feeling the need to talk to his dad right now. Then again, when did he ever feel a need to talk to his dad? Which teenager did? He would have guessed Astrid, but after seeing what he saw, he was no longer sure. The whole thing had left him rather dejected. It was easier to dislike her when she was perfect.

His dad looked up, a small scowl on his face. "Do tell me it wasn't the Burglar girl."

"No, it wasn't Cami." He glared lightly - Camicazi was always referred to as the Burglar girl. "It was Astrid. You know, Astrid Hofferson.".

"The girl you knocked out? The one you're working with?" Now Stoick looked interested. And it isn't even about me, Hiccup thought bitterly, it's because his screwup of a son might become friends with a goody goody.

"Yeah, that's the one."

"Good." His dad nodded approvingly. "Very good, I did my research on her after what you did. She seems like a splendid person."

Hiccup feigned a yawn, and then went off to bed without really responding. Of course his father would love Astrid. His father would love all kids except for his son and his friends. What if Astrid became his friend?

Hiccup tossed in his bed, thinking about the question in earnest. What would it be like to be Hotshot's friend? What was she like with her friends? She had smiled and laughed a lot more when she was with the kids. Ruffnut, Tuffnut, and Fishlegs all seemed pretty happy to be her friend.

His stomach clenched. Why, all of a sudden, did he want to be Astrid's friend? Was it because he saw just a second long glimpse into her home life? Because he liked the kids? Because that was what Heather wanted?

It wasn't as though he was starting to like Astrid.

But then, Hiccup thought as he finally dozed off, if liking her meant he got to stare at her pretty blue irises more, then maybe he would be up for it.

 **Review, pretty please! :)**


	10. Chapter 10

Astrid was beyond tired in the morning, but she forced herself to get up. Spring Break, she had promised herself that she would spend every day in the orphanage, and it was better than being stuck at home anyway.

So she made her way to the orphanage, feeling even more tired as she walked. Only halfway to the building did she realize she had skipped breakfast by accident. Astrid cursed herself - who did that?

She did, apparently.

Once she was actually at the orphanage, she ignored her hunger and fatigue as the kids were shuffled into light jackets in preparation for the park. She thought it would be nicer to take them to an amusement park, and she did have a jar of money waiting at home. It wasn't like she planned to use it for anything else. The kids having fun would be worth spending it all.

Hiccup came a few minutes late, but she didn't scold him, they just nodded at each other as he waited for her and the kids to get ready. Then they had the driving argument again, which she won.

At the park, the kids were allowed to run loose. It was a large park, but Astrid trusted her group. She still kept a close eye out, because she did not trust the world.

Least of all the boy standing right next to her.

Toothless was sitting on a bench away from the rest, but he didn't look particularly unhappy. He just serenely watched the other kids run and slide and swing. No one else was there at the moment.

Despite her fatigue, and her hunger, Astrid savored the image she saw. She took a mental picture, and vowed she wouldn't forget it because this was as close to perfect as she would get.

* * *

Less supervision was required at the park than the beach, so Hiccup stood next to his partner awkwardly, hands in his pockets.

"So," he began, noting the way the light wind ruffled her bangs, "did you talk to your friends?"

She looked at him, confused for a moment before understanding dawned on her face. "Oh. No, I didn't. Not yet, anyway. Text me later and remind me."

"Sure."

Silence fell over them again. It was quite peaceful, and Hiccup was just about to take out his phone when Astrid's stomach growled. Loudly. Her face turned red and she looked down.

"Sorry," she mumbled quietly, "skipped breakfast accidentally."

"Oh, yeah, I do that on school days a lot. I just get something from the vending machine at school." He turned to her. She was a bit pale. Was she sick? Because if she was, he didn't want to stand next to her. "You running a temperature?"

Astrid shook her head rapidly. "I checked my temperature before coming here."

He snickered, and when she gave him a questioning look, he said, "You check your temperature, but didn't remember to eat breakfast. What about the kids?"

"They get breakfast first thing in the morning. I specifically requested they get a big one today, because knowing them, we'll probably skip lunch and walk around town for a bit. You up for it?"

Hiccup nudged her shoulder lightly. "Maybe you should be asking yourself that question, Miss I-Skipped Breakfast."

"I'll be fine, Haddock."

"Suit yourself." He shrugged before walking off and sitting down next to Toothless and talking to him. He enjoyed the way the kid's face lit up when they did talk. And how quiet he was...Hiccup definitely saw a lot of himself in the ten year old.

If he had to ever adopt one of the kids, then he would probably adopt Toothless. But then where would the rest of them go? Maybe he could one day adopt more than one of them. He looked at Astrid, helping Barf and Belch reach the monkey bars. Was she planning to adopt when she could?

Of course she was. You could see it in her eyes every time she looked at them.

* * *

By the time the sun was starting to set, Astrid realized just how big of a lie she had told Hiccup.

There was a forced smile on her face, but she felt as though she could pass out at any given moment. Even the kids seemed to sense it, and a parental Hookfang asked if she was okay with his hands on his hips. Astrid had ruffled his hair, and told them she was fine.

But she was not fine. She was very not fine. She was starving, and very drowsy. This was probably what over exerting yourself felt like. She still kept her mouth shut, despite the dizziness from how hungry she was.

When they dropped the kids off, Hiccup was taking his leather jacket off the hook when he spared a glance at her. His eyebrows furrowed, although she didn't know why.

Once, they were outside, he blocked her path, and she scowled.

"What?"

"You haven't eaten anything all day," Hiccup pointed out matter-of-factly, "you look like you're going to pass out."

"I'll eat when I go..." Lie. Her mother had texted that her and her father had gone out, and that she should eat when they were with the kids. "Okay. I don't have food at home. But I'll make myself a sandwich or something."

Hiccup studied her with an odd look before he seemed to decide on something. "Come on."

"Where?"

He grabbed Astrid's hand, pulling her the opposite direction of her house. "To get you something to eat."

"What? No." She pulled on his hand, but before she could protest further, he sighed. Dramatically.

"I'm going to grab a burger anyway." He looked at her and widened his eyes ever so slightly. "Please? Grab a burger with me. You can protect me."

"I don't have any money." A small smile was growing on her face at his reason, but she kept pulling against him. "I keep my money at home."

He raised his eye dubiously, before he picked her up with no hesitation, bridal style in his arms. "Liar."

Astrid shrieked as he spun her quickly, grabbing onto his shirt and hanging on for dear life. "Put me down right now, you jerk!"

"You really want that, Hotshot? She spins, ladies and gentleman, will she make a full 360 or will the ever dashing person holding her decide not to care?" He nearly dropped her and she shrieked again as he laughed. Then there was a shout of pain as she punched his chest.

"Violence!"

"It's communication! You should know!"

Hiccup laughed loudly, before putting her down. She had to note he looked much happier than he usually did, and that, for some reason, warmed her heart a bit. So maybe he wasn't as bad as she made him out to be, it didn't mean anything.

"Come on, Hotshot." He held her hand in a pleading manner. "Get a burger with me. Just one."

Astrid smiled, now realizing that she probably looked happier than she usually did too. With an over exaggerated sigh, she nodded.

"Alright, dork. Lead the way."

He grinned as he led her to the road. "So, I brought my motorcycle to the orphanage today."

"Oh, _hell no!"_

 **I was very hungry when I wrote this. Please review!**


	11. Chapter 11

Oh, hell yes, apparently.

Astrid shrieked with delight as the wind whipped through her hair. Already knowing that her braid was going to come loose, she had taken the liberty of letting her hair down before they left. Hiccup had stared at her a little too long before getting on his motorcycle and beckoning her behind him.

She had been terrified, but this was amazing. It was mostly due to the fact that she trusted his skill with the motorcycle, and because she had a firm grip around his waist, making sure it wasn't tight.

Hiccup laughed with her as they zoomed through bright city lights. His hair, which she had gotten a scent of when she had buried her face in his neck in the initial part of the ride, was even more tousled than usual.

"Enjoying yourself, Astrid?" he shouted, as they raced on.

She had a mouthful of her own hair, so she couldn't answer, but her heart fluttered, just a little.

That was the first time he had used her name in such a positive way, and she didn't half mind the way it made small tingles run up her body.

* * *

Astrid Hofferson was beautiful.

Of course, he had never denied it. He knew fully well that half the student population drooled over her. It just hadn't appealed to him, not really. She didn't look all that attractive to him. With her tight braid and her strict face and her constantly suspicious eyes.

But with her hair loose and flying and all over the place and a smile on her face and her eyes lit up, she was more than attractive. Rather, she was downright gorgeous. Her hair highlighted her face as she rode.

Yes, Hiccup had always known Astrid Hofferson was beautiful, but this was the first time, with her whooping and being comfortable and for the first time having fun, the first time he was really allowing her beauty to mean something to him.

No, scratch that. It didn't mean something to him. He found his two female friends pretty too, but he never wanted to date them. He never had a...crush on them.

But then again, had their laughter ever made him grin so widely?

* * *

"This is heavenly," Astrid mumbled, after only taking one bite of the burger, "I am never eating anything else again."

"And you didn't wanna come," Hiccup said teasingly, with his own burger in his hands, "see, Hotshot, when I say I know a good burger place, I mean it."

She snorted, leaning back in her seat. "Oh, so when other people say it, they don't mean it?"

"Well - no - but - just eat your stupid burger."

Astrid laughed, but complied. It really was good, and Hiccup didn't look at her any differently whether she ate quickly or slowly, unlike her mother. When their bill came, she took out her wallet, but he had already given his credit card. She gaped.

"I was supposed to pay for my own burger!"

Hiccup grinned at her. "This wouldn't be much of a date if I let you pay. I'll have you know I'm a gentleman, milady." When she snorted, he scowled, but before he could say anything, she brought something else up.

"This isn't a date, Haddock." Astrid's eyes narrowed. Was this why he had brought her here? To claim he had taken her out? She was going to give him a piece of her mind when he laughed.

"Can't get anything by you, can I, Hotshot?" He put a hand to his chest dramatically. "It's okay. I'll find someone else who appreciates me. Like all the adoring teachers" - Astrid laughed - "and the kids, who love me so much more than you."

"They certainly do not!"

"They certainly do!" he shot back, with a look of smug superiority that she wanted to smack. "Well, at least Toothless does. What's up with him anyway?"

Astrid sighed as they stood up and walked out. "I don't really know. He came last year. I know what happened to the rest of them, they were all dropped here when they were babes. But him?" She frowned. "Not a clue."

There was a thoughtful look on his face. "The orphanage keeps files on the kids, doesn't it?"

"...Yes," she answered hesitantly, not knowing what he was thinking. She found out.

"And you totally have the key."

"We are not breaking into an orphanage to read a file!" she hissed, crossing her arms.

"I got you a burger!" he whined. "And aren't you curious?"

She contemplated it. Of course, Astrid was dying to know why Toothless was Toothless. It wasn't simply shyness, she could tell, and that time he had stood up for her only made her curiosity burn more.

Astrid checked the time. Her parents would not be back home yet.

She looked up at him, and wanted to step back from how intense his green eyes were boring into her's. He actually did care about Toothless, she realized then, it wasn't just for the heck of it, or the risk. Hiccup had taken a liking to the ten year old, who liked him as well. And as much as her pride was hit, if it would help Toothless, it was worth it.

Hanging out with troublemakers was never a good thing.

 **I should probs clarify that this chapter, the one before, and the one after, are meant to be a three parter. Much better if you read them together. That's also why they're short.**


	12. Chapter 12

***listens to I Knew You Were Trouble as I write***

"I cannot believe we're breaking into an orphanage."

"I know," Hiccup said with a grin, "it's so great! You're becoming just like me!"

"Shut up."

Astrid shivered, hurriedly shoving the key into the keyhole and making her way in. In her haste, she stumbled a little and Hiccup's arms wrapped around her waist from behind and steadied her. His warm breath hit her neck and her eyes widened. She hurriedly pulled away, thankful it was dark. Her cheeks were on fire.

"You're welcome," Hiccup mumbled, but it didn't sound as teasing as it should have.

Whatever. They were on a mission.

Hiccup jumped over the counter, and smirked lightly when she did as well. "So where are the files?"

Astrid didn't respond, kneeling down to the last drawer in the cabinet. A part of her wished it was locked - this was wrong. But she had been curious about Toothless for far too long, and Hiccup was only urging her on. This could help them help him.

Them? She meant her. Hiccup wasn't staying after a week. He was going to go back to doing whatever the heck him and his hooligan self did after school.

Maybe she was being too harsh on him.

With all the new stuff pushing it's way into her life, Astrid hadn't had as chance to sit back and really think. Especially about Hiccup. Because she didn't want to think about him. Or how he challenged her in new ways. Or how he got along with the kids and she saw a different side of him every time he played with them. Or how he had shown concern over her empty stomach today.

She didn't want to think about that, because she was terrified she was developing...a crush on Hiccup Haddock.

And Astrid felt uncomfortable even thinking about it because she wasn't some idiot. Every girl thought that they could...change the bad boys, but that only happened in movies. Then again, maybe Hiccup wasn't really a bad boy? Maybe that's why it was so realistic in her mind.

Maybe later she could think about her stupid feelings. Right now, she just wanted to hurry and get what they wanted.

"There," Hiccup murmured, and she pulled out the file. It read 'Nigel Fury.' Astrid put her hand on the file, but hesitated. She wasn't supposed to know. There had to be a reason for that.

"We don't have to," the boy next to her whispered suddenly, and she looked at him in surprise. He looked her in the eyes and continued to speak in a low voice. "Jokes aside, Astrid, don't read it if you don't want to. I - I shouldn't force you into it."

Damn. So much for not thinking about her feelings.

"No. We're doing this." She took a shay breath, and put the file on the counter before opening it.

Hiccup and Astrid both gasped sharply.

The first thing there was a picture of Toothless, except it was the most horrifying thing Astrid had ever seen. Some of his hair was matted with blood, there were many scars running down his face, and his eyes were wide and bloodshot. She trembled a little, as she felt Hiccup's fist clench a little.

"What the hell?" he hissed.

At the same time, they reached for the papers, splitting them to read them. It was a lot of information, but it did sum up to one thing: abusive parents. The police had found him one day and brought him to the orphanage before arresting his parents.

Astrid's heart hammered. This was why he was so quiet. This was why he had gotten so upset when Hiccup struck her. This was why he had pulled her away - if Astrid was the first person to treat him gently, he wouldn't want her hurt.

"That poor kid, gods." Hiccup shook his head, his jaw set and a furious look in his eyes. "How do you do that to a child? How do you...how could anyone…"

"They just do," she whispered, and her own unpleasant memories sprung to her head, making her head hurt even more. It was so messed up. It was so horrible. He didn't deserve it. She hadn't deserved it. No one deserved that.

* * *

Maybe it was wrong, but Hiccup hadn't felt as bad about hitting Astrid with a basketball than he did about making her see this. She cared about this kid, dammit.

And he knew, from the sick feeling in his gut, that he was beginning to care too.

Not just for Toothless, even. All of them. It had only been a few days and he was starting to care about them like an older brother. Just today he had Stormfly on his shoulders after one complaint of her feet hurting.

Caring hurt like hell right now. Hiccup felt a little dizzy, and he reached forward and closed the file, breathing heavily.

A tear slipped down Astrid's cheek.

"Hey," he murmured, reaching for her - in two seconds he was hugging her just like he had been a few days ago. "It's okay. He's safe now. And you've been great to him."

She slowly - hesitantly - slid her arms around his neck, hugging him back. "I know. I just...I know what that's like."

"W-what?"

Hiccup's mind flashed back to what he had seen from her window. Astrid's mother hadn't hit her, but she hadn't exactly looked to be the kindest person in the world either.

"My mother used to...nothing as bad as what he went through, mind you." She shook a little, and Hiccup's mind wheeled at this new revelation. Abuse was abuse, no matter the level of intensity.

And he had slapped her. Hiccup mentally winced. Gods, this girl was really changing everything.

As they stepped out of the orphanage, the cool breeze wasn't as soothing anymore. It was eerie, and their silence didn't help matters.

"I should go," Astrid mumbled, pushing her bangs behind her ear, "thank you for the burger, Hiccup."

She was walking before he could offer to give her a ride home, although she did turn around for a few seconds to say quietly, "I'll text my friends tonight about everyone hanging out together."

And she was off. Hiccup held the handle of his bike, the weight of the night finally catching up to him. His stomach was full, yet his body felt empty, giving him a weird nauseous feeling. He simply wanted to sleep.

"Hey, brother."

For fuck's sake, he did not want to deal with Dagur right now.

"I just realized, this is an orphanage. We should totally throw rocks at the window and scare the brats in there. Good idea, right?"

Irritation bubbled up inside him, and Hiccup turned to Dagur, snapping. "No, that's a terrible idea, because those kids didn't do anything to you."

Dagur looked shocked - and a little mad already - but Hiccup wasn't done.

"And don't call me your brother." He got on the motorcycle, scowling. "We never were, an never will be, brothers of any kind."

It was only when he was a good mile away did Hiccup realize how bad this could be. Not only for him, but for Heather too.

And Astrid, who Dagur thought he was dating.

Fuck.


	13. Chapter 13

It was Thursday, and Astrid felt strange. Hiccup's time at the orphanage was almost over, and then...and then there would be no reason for them to talk, or play around, or tease each other.

Astrid walked to the orphanage with a strange sense of apprehension. After yesterday, after what she had found out about Toothless, she simply felt jumpy. It wasn't a good feeling. The day was bright and sunny - she should have been walking with a spring in her step, thinking of ways to bribe Barf and Belch to calm down.

It was Hiccup. He had just shoved his way into her time at the orphanage and changed everything. Within a few days, he had gotten the kids to like him, make Astrid break into an orphanage, not to mention make her contemplate the idea of having a crush on him.

Which was denied, of course. Or maybe it was still in the contemplation stage.

And now everyone was hanging out together tonight at the smoothie shop. The world was coming to an end.

What even was it about him? The way he was a natural leader when he wanted to be? The way he made Toothless smile? The way he messed up his hair? That had been irritating a few days ago! Now suddenly she found it endearing? What was wrong with her?

All of a sudden, speak of the devil. Hiccup stopped his motorcycle right next to her, making her jump back in surprise.

"Get on, please." He seemed breathless.

"Whoa, I am not ditching the kids to go adventuring with you!" She crossed her arms. "Forget it!"

Hiccup shook his head, already moving forward to make room for her. "We are going to the orphanage. Please just get on."

"It's two blocks away!"

"Please, Astrid!"

The way her name rolled off his tongue made her consent, getting on the motorcycle and wrapping her arms around his waist as he rode for about ten seconds. When she got off, she raised a brow at him.

"Right, explanation." Hiccup rubbed the back of his neck. "I, uh, I kinda pissed off Dagur and he'll probably try to get back at me.."

Astrid furrowed her brows, crossing her arms. "Dagur? But what's that got to do with me?"

He winced. "We're dating in Dagur Land, remember?"

Astrid should have been worried, but she snorted at his use of "Dagur Land" instead. "What could he do to me?"

Hiccup gave her a serious look. "He could...you know…"

Well, it added onto her jumpy feeling. Not showing any nervousness, Astrid shrugged, walking inside with him. The woman on the desk looked up.

"You could take them to the nearby theme park today. It's very hot outside."

The theme park! Of course, she herself had wanted to take the kids there! But unfortunately, she hadn't saved up enough.

"I - I don't have enough for all of our tickets." Astrid looked down. "Maybe we can go next -"

"I can pay," Hiccup cut in, putting a hand on her shoulder. "Let's go."

Astrid gaped as he walked ahead of her, giving the amused counter woman a bewildered look before hurrying after him. "Hiccup, you don't have to! You already bought my burger yesterday."

"Ah ah ah." He waggled his finger as they walked upstairs. "The burger was for you. This is for the children. Don't you ever think of them, Astrid? Yeesh." His lips quirked in a smile and Astrid found herself smiling back.

For only being here a few days, he had changed a lot. Or she had. Maybe both of them?

The kids all cheered when they announced they were going to the theme park, Stormfly throwing her arms around Astrid's legs and shouting, "Thank you!"

"Actually, you should thank Hiccup. He's paying for the tickets," Astrid said with a smile, ruffling her hair. Hiccup, who had been putting his phone down was met with a very enthusiastic Hookfang, who jumped on him and was joined by Stormfly. Meatlug jumped up and down giddily.

Toothless was grinning slightly as though he couldn't help himself, and the first thing Astrid did was place a kiss on the top of his head. He looked up at her, surprised, and she merely hugged the boy and mumbled, "Thank you for standing up for me the other day."

He relaxed into her arms for the first time. Astrid was overjoyed.

After all the kids were ready and pumped up enough, they got into the van. Hiccup let her drive without complaint, and she found that he hadn't really been able to keep the smile off his face for a while.

Neither had she.

* * *

"Unicorn roller coaster!"

"Space jam!"

"Twister!"

"Merry go round," Meatlug said quietly, and Hiccup leaned down to whisper that they would definitely go. She smiled brightly.

As Astrid tried to make a compromise, Hiccup studied her and the kids closely. Had it really been a few days he was calling Meatlug "pushover girl"? It seemed like something so...so mean to do now.

He remembered when they had gone to the zoo, and Astrid had seemed so tense. But now she was relaxed, even having put on music in the car that they had all sang very off key along to.

She had looked beautiful with her hair out and laughing, but even now she still carried that effortless elegance, composed and the perfect citizen. You couldn't tell she was scared of her mom, or that she would probably have a meltdown if one of the kids got hurt. Not unless you studied her closely.

Toothless nudged his hand gently, pointing to the first roller coaster, and Hiccup realized the rest of them were already going. Astrid had decided to go in order. Typical. He smiled fondly.

"Come on, bud, let's go." Hiccup inclined his head and followed with a grin.

* * *

Astrid threw her head back and laughed as they left the orphanage, running a hand through her bangs. "He didn't!"

"He did!" Hiccup insisted. "You were looking the other way, and Belch jumped on Hookfang -"

"And you didn't stop him?"

"I didn't know what was happening until they both fell! And then Hookfang grabbed my hand -"

"And you toppled in the dirt too." She giggled.

Hiccup huffed as she snickered at his expense, her face turning red from mirth. She was a little breathless, really from all the excitement today.

"Hey, don't waste all your energy on laughing, Hotshot." He got on his motorcycle and scooted forward. "The real fun is about to begin. What happens when you mix nerds with burnouts?"

"Mean Girls terminology, apparently." Astrid snorted, but she didn't get on. Hiccup stared at her curiously, and she bit her lip.

She didn't know why she was hesitating. Did she not want to go to their friends yet? Just hang out with him instead? Since when…?

Oh, since she started liking him.

"Astrid?" he asked amusedly. There was that heart fluttering use of her name again.

She was leaning in before she even realized it. Hiccup's eyes widened as their lips barely brushed against each other's, but then she had a sudden pull of clarity.

What was she doing? He hit her with a basketball! He slapped her! He didn't like her. He may not be a jerk, but he didn't like her/

"I'll walk," Astrid mumbled, and started running before he could say anything. She heard the motor come to life, but he didn't call her back.

 **I love updating this story because I actually get reviews for it. (Please don't let that jinx me.)**


	14. Chapter 14

Heather slid over to make room for Hiccup as he sat down, only to see his other friends already there, along with Fishlegs, Ruffnut, and Tuffnut. Everyone was staring awkwardly at one another, but hell, Hiccup had his own awkward thoughts to think about.

Who knew Hotshot could be so bold?

It had taken him aback, and in the exact moment of things, he forgot to actually kiss her back. When she had run off, he realized that she had realized that it was a mistake.

Astrid came in, her cheeks becoming pink when she spotted him, and sat down next to Tuffnut, who whispered something in her ear. Astrid simply shook her head.

Camicazi broke the silence. "Why didn't you both just come here on Hiccup's motorcycle? Wouldn't have been that much of a stretch, right?"

"Uh…" Hiccup and Astrid exchanged looks and then turned away from each other, and Astrid said quietly, "I think it's dangerous," while Hiccup claimed, "We were racing."

Heather snorted into her drink, and Ruffnut smirked. Fishlegs looked at him and leaned forward, changing the subject to a TV show and asking who'd seen it.

They went from one topic to another - from entertainment to politics to school to the future. Astrid kept quiet for the most part, although her eyes kept flitting to Hiccup. Her friends gave her odd looks throughout the conversation. Clearly, she was usually more active than this.

And then Ruffnut asked, "Hey, so how many siblings do you guys have?"

Hiccup, Cami, and Snotlout sharply turned their heads to Heather, whose eyes widened at the question, before she looked down, her hands shaking slightly.

"Heather and her little sister Winona were involved in an accident last year. Dagur had come to pick them up from Cami's house, but he was drunk. Heather said -" He glanced at her, but she didn't protest to what he was telling them - "Heather didn't protest, because Dagur is creepy as hell. Winona - or Windshear, like we called her - didn't make it," Snotlout explained quietly. Hiccup tuned out the following discussion and apologies towards Heather - he placed his arm around his raven friend and rubbed her shoulder gently. She was still looking down, her eyes closed.

Hiccup remembered the night vividly. He had gotten a call from a hysterical Cami, who had nearly screamed at him to come to the hospital. They had waited impatiently until the doctor told them that Heather was going to be okay, but unfortunately, Windshear wasn't. Dagur had been arrested for a few months, and when he had come out, he had been even more crazy than before.

Astrid finally said something. "Heather, that really doesn't mean it was your fault, it just means that you're regretting something that in some world could have been avoided."

Heather looked up, her brows furrowing in confusion. Even Hiccup gave the girl a questioning look.

"I mean…" She straightened in her seat. "Of course it could have been avoided. But there's a lot of things that could have been avoided. You never know what will happen. The only way it was your fault is if you somehow had a prophecy that the car crash would happen, and even then, your brother is really scary normally, I can't imagine what he'd be like if he was drunk."

"Thank you," Heather murmured, and she looked like she meant it, genuine gratitude showing in her eyes for the other girl. Hiccup gave her a look too - and it was only then that Astrid broke her gaze and looked away.

* * *

There was a slight tingling feeling in Astrid's stomach, the good kind. The two groups of students had gotten along really well, and it was...it was nice to make new friends. Especially in high school, the land of horror.

She had said goodbye to the twins and Fishlegs and was about to start walking home when she felt a warm hand close over her arm. Hiccup motioned to his motorcycle when she turned. He might have been blushing, but she couldn't tell in the dark.

"Dagur isn't in jail anymore," he murmured, "I should still drop you off home."

Astrid hesitated a moment before nodding and getting on his black motorcycle with him. They didn't exchange any words, and it was awful. She almost missed it when they used to argue, because at least then some words were being said.

It was aggravating that that was only a few days ago, when it seemed like months.

When they got to her house, Astrid got off slowly, not looking Hiccup in the eye until he called out, "Are we going anywhere special tomorrow?"

"What?" Was he asking her out?

"Are we taking the kids anywhere?" he clarified, and Astrid felt heat rise up to her cheeks at her quick assumption.

She shook her head. "Nowhere special. Probably just the park."

"Alright. Oh, and Astrid…" He gazed at her, uncertainty playing on his features. "Thanks for...for all of that back in the cafe. Heather hasn't really been the same since the accident."

"No problem," she murmured, "it really wasn't much."

Hiccup hummed slightly. "Neither was that kiss, but that was mostly my fault."

He started the motor and rode off, leaving her with her mouth agape, and a pleasant storm of butterflies raging in her stomach.

 ***whispers* The calm before the storm**


	15. Chapter 15

The park was a nice change from all the hectic things going on. Not only did her mother announce out of the blue that there was going to be a dinner party the next day at their house, but yesterday, she had kissed Hiccup. On the mouth, to clarify.

She hadn't said a single word to him as they walked to the park. He didn't look too bothered, he was talking to Toothless in low voices. At one point, Toothless did an exaggerated gesture and they both laughed, with Hiccup ruffling the younger boy's hair.

"Astrid," Barf yelled, tugging on her hand once they arrived, "show us how you did the monkey bars again!"

She grinned; the kids loved to see her acrobatics on the playground, which might as well have been her second home growing up. She winked before scrambling up the ladder, gripping the monkey bars, and hefting herself on top to the twins', Hookfang's, and Stormfly's utter delight (Meatlug was looking worried about her caretaker, no matter how many times she had seen the older girl do it).

Stormfly clapped and whooped, closely following behind. Astrid tsked - she had not quite wanted her to try it out when there was no one on the ground to catch her.

"Hic - Hiccup!" she called out, and the boy turned from his conversation to glance at her.

"Yeah?"

"Could you stand under her? Just in case she falls."

"Sure. Hang on, bud." Hiccup ran to the monkey bars, and held his arms out in preparation. As Stormfly tried to lift herself up, he muttered, "Always hated the monkey bars at school."

Astrid opened her mouth to comment, then closed it again. He didn't look at all as though he was nervous about talking to her. In fact, he was grinning up at her as though he expected her to say something.

"Yeah," was all she said carefully, before berating herself.

Stormfly had successfully done the trick. Watching her do it slowly was not as interesting as watching Astrid do it quickly, so the other kids had left (Stormfly was still proud.) She scrambled down, running towards the swings.

That left Hiccup and Astrid alone.

Thordammit.

Hiccup ran a hand through his hair, smiling sheepishly. "Kids, huh?"

Oh, so now he was nervous.

They made small talk, about the weather and whatnot. Astrid's mind started drifting slightly, to what she wanted to wear for tomorrow and something very troubling her mother had said.

Her cousin, Rosie, was bringing her boyfriend.

Rose. In high school. Had a boyfriend.

It wasn't that her mom had set it in some disappointed tone, it was Rosie herself. Rosie was smug, and she was near damn perfect. Astrid hadn't expected her to get a boyfriend so soon, though, and she did not want to deal with the embarrassment that boys found Rosie pretty (which a lot did.)

"Astrid?" Hiccup asked, waving a hand in front of her face.

"Will you pretend to be my date?" she blurted, only comprehending the words after she said them.

Hiccup's eyes went comically wide, and for once, he was the one blushing. Out of embarrassment? Hopefully not.

The more Astrid thought about it, though, the more attractive an idea it seemed. Hiccup was witty, smart, fairly good-looking, and she could have fun with him.

Dammit, she scolded herself. The reasons for pretending to date him sounded like she really wanted to date him.

Well, she had kissed him. By the laws of high school, that did mean she wanted to date him.

Not that he needed to know that.

* * *

Pretend to be her date? In what world, in what universe, did Hiccup want to go on a date with Hotshot Hofferson?

Why would he ever let himself do that?

It was a little irritating, how quickly he had developed a crush on Astrid Hofferson. It only grew worse after she kissed him - it was about half a second long and it still made him want to find some dark corner together so that they could kiss more.

Damn Astrid Hofferson.

He asked hesitantly, "Pretend to be your date? Why?"

"Because my family is having a party and my cousin is bringing her boyfriend." She clicked her tongue. "And I'm a little tired of her one-upping me."

Someone was more hotshot than Hotshot? This he had to see. Of course, the majority of the reason was because he wanted to see what it would be like to date Astrid without actually putting his feelings on the line.

Nothing good came from wearing your heart on your sleeve. Growing up with his dad had taught him that much. No matter how much you tried, you were always turned down.

"There's an extra version of you?" he teased gently. "Does your family produce you guys in a factory?"

Astrid laughed - Hiccup grinned - and she punched his shoulder lightly. "Do machines grab a burger with you?"

"Well, I carry my phone when I get one, so yes. Yes they do."

She shook her head with a smile, jumping off the monkey bars (and landing on her feet too? Was there any physical activity this girl couldn't do?), and walking off towards the kids.

Hiccup sat down on a rock, and considered how annoying it was that he liked Astrid.

It really got in the way of things.

 **If you love pretend-to-date-me tropes, clap your hands!**

 **So, yes, dinner party, and then Dagur might show his deranged face again. And you guys won't like it. Cheers.**


	16. Chapter 16

**I genuinely want to finish this fic, so I decided to update it before anything else.**

Hiccup's dad didn't know what knocking lightly with your knuckles was.

He preferred to bang the door, and leave his son's heart racing that there was a murderer outside the door for a millisecond. Then he would remember that his dad was just a giant and this was normal.

"Son, I need you to -" Stoick froze, and Hiccup felt himself blush darkly. His dad had found him in a suit, with his hair slowly springing back from when he tried to push it down. There was a scent of cologne in the air, and many ties on the bed. " - take out the trash. Ah, going somewhere?"

Hiccup ran a hand through his hair. "Y-yeah. I just got back from the orphanage half an hour ago. Going to a friend's house."

"Oh. I see. Is it the Burglar girl? Heather?"

It was a little embarrassing that his dad knew immediately that it was a girl's house. But then again, would he have dressed up like this if he was just going to Snot's house? He wouldn't even dress like this for Cami and Heather, honestly. But he was supposed to be Astrid's boyfriend, he had to dress nicely - not that his dad of all people needed to know that.

"Astrid," he murmured, and then spoke a little louder. "Astrid Hofferson. The girl I…"

"Hit with a basketball."

Hiccup winced. Had that really been a week ago? And all for a dare?

There was a part of him that said he didn't exactly regret it, because otherwise he wouldn't have started to work with Astrid. Or the kids. And Heather wouldn't have met people who could probably comfort her better than their group of friends could.

"Well, I'm...glad," Stoick said finally, putting a hand on his shoulder. "That girl does seem like a good friend. And, uh, good luck at this party."

"Thanks, Dad." He gave him a half smile, and Stoick smiled back.

Luck. Thor knew he would need it.

* * *

There was another knock on the door, and Astrid's stomach twisted. Most of the guests were here, and each time she opened the door and saw it wasn't Hiccup, she'd be disappointed.

Especially when Rosie entered with her boyfriend. He was shorter than Astrid, but cute enough, with brown eyes and an awkward smile. He was alright, and clearly very enamored with Rosie, who had thrown her a smug glance.

There was no way her and Hiccup would pull it off. They didn't even know each other enough to pull it off. Hiccup wasn't going to look like he liked her, and she would look like an idiot in front of everyone when the truth came out in the middle of dinner.

Astrid almost preferred the disappointment, because when she opened the door and saw Hiccup standing there in a suit, with a smirk and a rose in his hand, her stomach flipped so violently she nearly gasped.

"Evening." He leaned in and whispered, still smirking. "What do you think?"

"You - you clean up well," was all she could say, stepping aside to let him in.

Hiccup took her hand once they were in front of the living room, not in a forceful or overly dramatic manner, but very casually, and kissed it.

Damn. Asking Hiccup Haddock to be her pretend boyfriend was either the best or the worst idea she had ever had.

"Is that your cousin? The one with the red hair?" he murmured, shifting his eyes to the girl who was watching them.

"Yeah. Why?" she breathed.

Hiccup turned his head quickly in Rosie's direction, as though to make sure he had her attention, and then mock bowed and offered the flower to Astrid.

"For you, milady."

Well crap. He wasn't holding back. Flowers, hand kissing. What was next, sweeping her off her feet?

No, Astrid thought, as Hiccup went past her to meet her mom, that would be overkill. Not that it wasn't overkill enough for her cheeks already.

"You must be Hiccup."

"I am. And you're Ms. Hofferson, right?" He smiled lightly as Astrid watched, attentive. After what she had told him about her mom, he wouldn't say anything...right?

"I am," she said, swiftly looking him up to down.

"You're a very good hostess," he praised with an easy smile, and then her mother smiled back.

"Thank you, Hiccup. Well, I hope you enjoy the party." Her mother left and Astrid let out a breath of relief, stepping up next to Hiccup, who was looking very relieved himself.

"Very smooth."

"Aren't I?" He grinned at her, and Astrid's stomach flipped again.

* * *

Well, he'd thought Hotshot was mean. Her cousin opened a whole new level.

The teens - which included Astrid, Hiccup, Astrid's cousin, Astrid's cousin's boyfriend, and two other boys who he assumed were also cousins or something.

"Remember when you cried when you lost at Snakes and Ladders?" Rosie asked Astrid, grinning as she threw a light side glance at Hiccup.

"I remember," Astrid said dryly, leaning her head against the wall, "do you remember when we were three and I pushed you off your toy car?"

Hiccup laughed inwardly at seeing her so petty. They hadn't really done any couple-esque things since he had come in besides sitting next to each other. There was a fine line between being smooth and then being downright cheesy.

They talked a bit more, and then finally one of the two boys (he really couldn't remember their names) asked Hiccup, "So, Astrid? What were you thinking?"

Rosie smirked, leaning back as she nuzzled into her boyfriend's shoulder. Too late to put his arm around Astrid now, it would look way too forced. He noticed that there had been no such question directed at Rosie's boyfriend.

"I was thinking, hey, I like this girl. Let me ask her out."

"Best reason ever," Rosie's boyfriend remarked, laughing. Hiccup decided he was alright.

Rosie leaned forward a little. "And what about when she overreacts at stuff?"

"What?" His brows furrowed.

"What about when she goes on a rant because of what she believes is right? What about when she gets emotional? What about when she wants to show off? I'm assuming you haven't seen all of that, since you're still together."

Hiccup opened his mouth to make a retort - and then realized that he had said, or at least thought, very similar things not too long ago. It didn't make him want to defend her less, per se, but it did make him self conscious. Was he just like Astrid's cousin?

He spoke again. "Actually, I have seen it." Hadn't he? He'd seen her cry, he'd seen her get mad when she found out about Toothless, and most importantly, he understood why she got like that, he got her. And that was after knowing her for a week. Astrid and Rosie had known each other their whole lives. "And you know something? I love that side of her."

Astrid's eyes widened slightly as she looked at him, even as he kept talking.

"Yeah. Because I know why she does what she does. Maybe if you bothered to find out, you'd appreciate it more." He grit his teeth a little. "Not to mention, she's probably the smartest girl I know. She's downright gorgeous, and she must be really resilient if she grew up with you lot."

"Hiccup," Astrid cut in, gazing at him with something unreadable in her eyes. "Let's go out for a bit."

"Yeah. Let's."

He glared at them as he and Astrid walked out of the house. They both leaned against the wall, not saying anything, until Astrid swallowed and turned to him.

"Thank you."

Hotshot was way too damn attractive for her own good.

He leaned forward and kissed her, not a peck, but an actual kiss. Astrid slid her arms around his neck as he held her waist, and he pushed her gently on the wall.

This wasn't some private corner, but that didn't take away that kissing Astrid Hofferson felt amazing. Her lips were soft and welcoming, and the fact that she was kissing back eagerly was adding on to it.

They kept kissing until they were both pulling back for air, panting heavily. Her eyes were closed for a brief second, and then she murmured, "No one was watching us."

"No, they weren't."

"That wasn't pretend."

"No, it wasn't."

Hiccup reached out and brushed his thumb against her cheek, now red from the cold. "We should go inside. We can - we can talk about this later, yeah?"

Astrid smiled lightly, putting her own hand over his and nodding. "Yeah. Definitely. Uh...I'll just…"

"Go," he nudged her gently, "I'll catch up with you in a bit."

Astrid smiled, again, and she did as he said. Hiccup watched her go, before leaning against the wall and taking a deep breath. It had really been a while since a kiss had left him completely breathless.

But it was so, so worth it. In the back of his mind, he saw him and Astrid, going to school together, walking in together, and then going to orphanage afterwards. He'd see Toothless and the other kids, and then sometimes he could treat Astrid to a date afterwards.

It was a great image.

Hiccup's phone buzzed. He took it out, expecting to see one of his friends or maybe his dad checking up on him. Instead, it was a text from Dagur, and Hiccup frowned as he looked at it.

 _Surprise brother. Dont say u didnt see this coming and dont tell anyone. It certainly wont be u who pays the price if u open ur mouth._

His brows furrowed, and his fist clenched a little. What did Dagur mean? What had he done? Astrid was in her house, and Heather, he knew for a fact, was out with Cami - she had just posted a picture of the restaurant they were at.

Maybe Dagur had finally, truly lost it and started imagining things. It was both a disturbing and relieving idea.

But then Astrid ran out, her face panicked and her phone in her hand, and she cried out, "The orphanage just called, Toothless is missing!"

 **So, you're either happy because of the kiss or you hate me because of Dagur. Be sure to describe either or in great detail - muwahahahaha.**

 **I think this is my longest chapter, wow.**


	17. Chapter 17

Astrid knew she looked like a mess, even if she hadn't looked at the mirror before coming to the orphanage. The orphanage had said not to come last night, that the police were on it, although they didn't have any leads. There was one video footage inside the orphanage, but the kidnapper was cloaked and well concealed.

But she hadn't been able to sleep at all. Her hair was a mess, her eyes were puffy and she dark bags under them, and even her mother had pitied her enough not to say a thing about her appearance.

Hiccup was waiting for her at the orphanage, and there were bags under his eyes as well. When he saw her, he swallowed, as though feeling the same pain she was.

There was a moment's hesitation before Astrid sunk into him and Hiccup wrapped his arms around her tightly, brushing her bangs from her face. She closed her eyes, finding tears prickling at her eyes again.

"Astrid," he whispered, "I have to talk to you."

"Yeah?" she croaked out, and, realizing it sounded pathetic, she raised her voice and tried to speak normally. "Yeah?"

"I…"

Astrid looked up. Hiccup was staring at her, a conflicted look on his face. He looked at the orphanage, cleared his throat, and said, "It's gonna be okay."

It wasn't that Astrid didn't appreciate the reassurance. But, she thought as she sighed and pulled back from the hug, it wasn't what she needed right now. She needed action. She needed something to be done, so that they could find Toothless.

Hiccup's phone started ringing in his pocket, and the boy stiffened. His hand reached for it, but then he clenched his fist and looked at her.

"I think that might be my dad calling. Can I catch up with you?"

Astrid nodded slowly, walking into the orphanage. He seemed a lot more tense than, well, panicky, like she was. Maybe that was just his way of coping.

As soon as Astrid was inside, Meatlug was hugging her feet, and as soon she picked the little girl up, she wrapped her arms around the older girl's neck and closed her eyes.

"Toothless is gone."

"Toothless is not gone," Astrid said quietly, kissing her forehead, "the police are looking for him, and they will find him."

"But what if they don't?" Barf cried out, and she looked down to see him and Belch looking the most dejected she had ever seen them. "What'll happen to him? What will the bad man do?"

Astrid froze, looking down at the twins and slowly setting Meatlug down. "What do you mean, the bad man? What bad man?"

"We saw him!" Belch shouted, humping up and down, "us and Hooky -"

"Don't call me Hooky!"

" - We saw him take Toothless and when he saw us, he took out a giant knife and told us not to tell the police anything. But he didn't say not to tell you, Astrid, so don't worry." Belch pat her hand as though it would fix everything, and even though she was stressed, she felt a rush of love for the little boy.

Astrid sat down, telling all the kids to sit down in front of her. "I know the girls weren't up, but I need you guys to tell me everything about what the man looked like."

Stormfly and Meatlug looked expectantly at the twins, who looked at Hookfang, who shrugged. "He had weird red hair. And weird eyes too!" He stretched his eyes exaggeratedly. "They were green, like Hiccup's, but they were mean green. He had really really mean green eyes. Like, they were popping out."

Meatlug whimpered and Stormfly wrapped her arms around her friend as Astrid leaned down. "Red hair, mean green eyes...uh, what about his body? Was he tall?"

"Taller than you," Barf whispered, "taller than Hiccup too. And really strong."

Red, mean green - just green, Astrid reminded herself, "mean green" was not something she would say to the cops - tall, and strong. She tried to paint a picture in her head of what the man could look like.

And it only took a few seconds before she thought of Dagur Derange, and she gasped.

Dagur would have every reason to. He was mad at Hiccup, he wouldn't hurt his own sister - probably - and she herself had never been in a position to be attacked, always with someone. Oh gods. Dagur must have taken Toothless to get back at Hiccup!

Astrid swallowed. "Alright, guys, keep playing. I'm going to check on Hiccup quickly. Okay?"

"Okay," they all chorused, although none of them got up to play, or even looked like they were in the mood for it.

Her mind was racing along with her feet downstairs. Hiccup had to know, he knew Dagur, he could help -

"Is he okay?" came from the brunette.

She stopped in the middle of opening the door. The boy had not noticed her, his back was to the building, and his shoulders were tensed.

"This is crazy, Dagur, even for you," was the next thing Hiccup hissed.

Astrid's eyes widened. Oh, gods. He couldn't have. Not after finding out about what Toothless had been through all his life. He wouldn't.

Her hand shook on the door handle.

He wouldn't.

"Yeah, yeah, I know why you did it." She heard him take a deep breath. "No, I didn't tell the police."

Astrid's mind went into a haze. He had. There was no need to tell Hiccup that it might be Dagur. He already knew. He might even have helped.

She swallowed a lump in her throat, and stepped outside before Hiccup could say anything else. As the door closed, Hiccup turned around, and his eyes widened as he saw the look of - no doubt - betrayal on her face. Her fists were clenched, and she could hear Dagur on the phone now, still rambling, but no one was paying attention.

"I need to go," Hiccup said softly, not taking his eyes off her, "I think someone's coming."

* * *

Hiccup put the phone back in his pocket as Astrid gazed at him.

How much had she heard? What did she know? What did she assume?

Whatever it was, it wasn't going to be in his favor.

"This isn't what you think," Hiccup began, reaching a hand out.

The blonde backed away, her hurt look quickly giving into one of anger. "It isn't? Because what I think is that you were just talking to Dagur."

"Astrid -"

"And I think," she continued, her voice shaky, "is that Dagur took Toothless, and you're covering up for him."

"I'm not, Ast, I swear." Hiccup ran a hand through his hair. "Just listen to me."

There was a feeling of familiarity in her words, and the look she was giving him. It was the same look that his dad gave him when he saw some news of plagiarism or thievery in their town. He looked at Hiccup as though he was sure it was him, no matter that he knew that his son wasn't a Thor-damned criminal.

He thought Astrid would know that too, and it made him bitter that she apparently didn't.

"Astrid," he pleaded quietly when she opened her mouth to protest. "Please."

She swallowed, glaring intensely. "Fine. You have one minute to explain how the hell you're okay with this."

That was some kind of breaking point, and suddenly he was shouting.

"Okay? I'm not okay with this! You think that after knowing what that kid has been through, I would be okay with this?" He grit his teeth. "You think that little of me, huh? Here's what happened. I told you that I pissed off Dagur. Well, you know why? It was because he wanted to scare the kids, and it would probably go further once he started. And I told him no!" He was shaking now too. "I told him no, because no matter what you think of me, I'm not some fucking heartless monster who wants children to die! So yeah, I got Dagur pissed off, and now he's kidnapped Toothless, and I can't tell the police! He's keeping Toothless with him at all times, says he'll cut him if he sees a cop, whether he goes to jail or not! He's crazy, Astrid! And you think…" Here he stopped to catch his breath and give her his own glare. "And you think that I'm okay with it?"

Somewhere along his rant, Astrid had started to look guilty instead of hurt, her demeanor crestfallen. And he was still shaking, still wanting to shout, preferably at Dagur for messing everything up when it was going so well.

"You think…" His voice cracked as a tear slipped down his cheek. "You think I don't know what everyone thinks of me? I used to be a good kid, Astrid. I used to be. Who knows if you remember that? But I got picked on, my dad didn't notice me because he was too busy wallowing away after my mom died. So I decided to get noticed. I acted out. And it worked. Kids didn't bully me anymore. My dad yelled at me, but at least he talked to me." There were more tears now, hot and sticky. "I saw myself in Toothless. I saw someone I could have been if my dad decided he wanted to punish me. But no, I'm okay with this, right!? Definitely okay!"

No more words came out, even though he tried. He stood there, glaring in defiance as he cried like a fucking idiot, looking down and clenching his fists. This time, it was Astrid who stepped forward and him who stepped back, trying to get control of himself.

"What does Dagur want?" she asked in a pained voice, as though it hurt to say.

"M-money, mostly," he said, furiously wiping his eyes and looking up, "and he wants me to do some humiliating things at school."

She nodded, clenching and unclenching her fist a few times. Finally, she asked softly, "Are you going to…"

"Yes," he snapped, looking at her. "I'll tell my dad to -"

"What if Dagur doesn't -"

"Then we keep doing what he wants."

"And how long will that go on?"

"I don't know!"

"Then we can't wait for Dagur to hurt Toothless!" Astrid cried. "Do you know where he is?"

"I - yeah," he grunted, "he has this broken abandoned building he spends him time in." His fingers twitched. "Heather told me about the place, and Dagur doesn't know that I know."

"Then we all go tonight," Astrid declared, her eyes calculating, "You get your friends, I get mine. You text me the address, and we -"

"That is dangerous as hell," Hiccup said evenly, breathing heavily.

"Yeah, it is." Astrid ran a hand through her hair. "But we'll be quiet, and if Heather is there too…"

He thought it over. It was crazy. There was a good chance one of them would end up hurt, or they'd be the next ones kidnapped. But if they got Toothless out, they could set the police on Dagur with a bunch of witnesses and finally not have to worry about him anymore.

"Alright," he said, aware that his cheeks were now dry, "tonight."

"Tonight."

They stared at each other, the extremeness of the situation sinking in. There was a hard-to-read look on her face, her proud resolve crumbling.

"Sorry," she said finally, quietly.

Hiccup brushed past her, and went into the orphanage.

 ***obnoxiously slams keyboard* Ha-ha, you suckers had to read this.**


	18. Chapter 18

**There is a slight POV change in the beginning of this chapter, only because guest Troublemaker asked for a scene between Toothless and Dagur, and I loved the idea of it.**

He was shaking again.

Toothless didn't want to be shaking, per se, but it was cold and he was scared and every time the red man wanted him to do something, he would take out his knife and tell him to do it. Toothless didn't need the knife - by now, he would just do whatever it was, but the red man wouldn't let up.

All he wanted to do was go back to the orphanage and be with everyone again.

But his eyes filled with tears at the thought. What if they wouldn't come for him? He had never played like the other kids had, never jumped up and down or been responsive. They probably thought they were better off without him.

Toothless brought his knees to his chest and tried not to lean against the wall behind him because it felt like it would crack.

There was a couch near him that the red man was sitting on, and it reminded Toothless a lot of his dad's couch, and it was like he was in the same situation. His parents would sit comfortably on the couches and the chairs but they always made him sit on the floor. And sleep on the floor.

Toothless was shaking violently now. He didn't want that again. He wanted the orphanage. He wanted Stormfly's loud morning greetings and Barf and Belch climbing on his back. He wanted Hookfang challenging him to an endless amount of races and Meatlug smiling when she offered to share her food with him. He wanted Astrid to lean down and hug him and muss up his hair. And he really really wanted Hiccup to talk to him about all the cool art he used to draw and what planes were like because Hiccup never made him talk. He let him do that on his own.

He didn't want to be Nigel, he wanted to be Toothless.

The red man was whistling as he smoked, and then he turned his head to see him. "What are you sniffling about?"

Toothless didn't answer, until the red man screamed the question. "Y-you're gonna keep me here."

"Oh, don't be such a gloomy Gus. I'm not into having kids, wouldn't really wanna keep you." He grinned, leaning forward. "But you're still lucky you're not a girl."

He didn't know what that meant, but it sent shivers up his spine nonetheless.

He wanted to go home and never be near the red man again.

"All Hiccup has to do is pay off my debts with that hella rich father of his, and then utterly humiliate himself for a few weeks, maybe -" He licked his lips, and Toothless shuddered in disgust. "Maybe push Astrid Hofferson in here by mistake…"

"Leave Hiccup and Astrid alone," Toothless said boldly, summoning what little courage he had at the moment.

The red man looked angry, and Toothless thought he would be hit or scraped with the knife, but all the man did was throw his head back and let out a howling laugh.

For some reason, it was worse than a punishment.

* * *

Camicazi swung a bat wildly, making Snotlout jump back and scowl at her. She grunted in disapproval, and then swung it at Hiccup, who stepped back and imitated his cousin.

"Hiccup, when will they get here?" Heather, who was leaning against a brick wall, asked. "Soon?"

"Soon," he promised, gazing around to try and spot Astrid and her friends. "Are you sure you want to -"

Heather cut him off sharply. "He kidnapped a little kid, Hiccup. Brother or not, Dagur is crazy. He already killed Windshear, I'm not letting him kill Toothless too." Her voice softened a little. "Especially because I see how much the kid means to you."

Cami shoved him and wrapped an arm around Heather, who leaned into her shoulder and closed her eyes. Hiccup and Snotlout exchanged glances.

Truthfully, he'd much rather focus on Cami and Heather's relationship than on his own. Okay, so maybe he shouldn't have ignored Astrid for the most part that day. Maybe he had felt bad. But maybe she shouldn't have been so quick to think that he would have, in any universe, helped Dagur take Toothless. It was like their week together had meant nothing at all.

"It's a school night," Snotlout whispered, "maybe that's why Hotshot Hofferson isn't coming."

Hiccup scoffed. "Please. Astrid would set the school on fire if it meant getting Toothless back."

Snotlout gazed at him oddly, raising a brow. "Astrid? Not Hotshot?"

Hiccup didn't answer, turning around and looking out into the dark. Finally, he saw a small blue car - Fishlegs' car, he was sure - with the four of them in in. As they got out, all of them looked deadly serious, but then again, so did his group.

Him and Astrid nodded curtly at each other.

"So?" Ruff hissed, wrapping her arms around herself. "Where's the building?"

"A block away," Heather said, all business now, "we want to avoid Dagur -"

"And make as little noise as possible. I don't even think the building is stable," Hiccup added as they started walking. "So no touching, either."

"No touching," Fishlegs repeated, with a significant look at the twins.

When they came to the two story building, Hiccup opened the glass door slightly. There were stain marks everywhere inside, and he didn't want to look at the red ones.

If that bastard had harmed a hair on Toothless's head...

Hiccup growled internally, before Astrid's hand brushed against his, by mistake, most likely. He turned to look at her. She was pale.

Pale, yet looking more determined than he had ever seen her.

* * *

It took her a few seconds to realize that Hiccup's fingers were brushing against her own, but when she did, she didn't move them. There was something comforting about him, about his friends, who were rough-and-tumble and knew what they were doing.

But of course it was still scary to go into a lion's den.

Astrid held his hand, and to her relief, he didn't do anything but squeeze it gently. They didn't look at each other, and it was dark enough that no one else would notice, but it still gave her confidence to take another step.

"He's not on the first floor," Tuff whispered, his eyes scanning around. "There are no more rooms, right, Hiccup? Everything was demolished, there's no place to hide.

She felt Hiccup nod next to her, so she said, "Then he's on the second floor. Let's go."

They were careful to not all trample up at once, because the stairs were rickety and no one wanted to break a leg.

Then they heard snoring.

"Son of a bitch," Snotlout hissed, "we could have sent the police and they would have gotten the kid. He's sleeping."

"I'm glad we didn't take that chance," Heather said back quietly, "it doesn't matter. Let's get him and get out of here."

"Where is he?"

"I don't know. I can't see…"

"There! On the floor!"

Astrid's blood boiled as she ran forward. Toothless was sleeping as well, with his head on the floor and a frown on his face. There were no visible injuries from what she could see, but she couldn't really judge with dim light and all his clothes still on.

Slowly, with Hiccup behind her, she scooped Toothless up in her arms. Hiccup leaned down until he was her height and kissed the smaller boy on the forehead.

"Let's get him out of here," he whispered.

But it just couldn't have been that easy.

All of a sudden there was a crack, and the next thing Astrid knew, Heather was screaming. The floor had given out under her.

In a speed that she didn't know Camicazi was capable of, the wild haired girl ran to the hole and slid on her belly to grab Heather's hand before the rest of them could move even a muscle. She was groaning with the weight.

Heather's scream had woken Toothless, who shouted as he woke up, thrashing. And consequently, Dagur woke up.

Hiccup stiffened as the red haired man sat up slowly, his eyes taking a few seconds to adjust. When he saw them, and Toothless, he snarled.

No one moved. Cami was still holding on to Heather's hand, but she was staring at Dagur. They all were.

Dagur took a step forward, and Fishlegs took a step backwards, but it was the wrong move. He had been right next to the hole in the floor.

It cracked open some more, and both Heather and Camicazi slipped through the hole, falling with a scream. The twins sweared at the exact same time, with Tuffnut, who was closest to the stairs, rushing down, and Ruffnut pulling Fishlegs away. Dagur's eyes blazed.

"Heather," he said, growling, "Heather! You brought her here!"

"You brought a ten year old here!" Astrid shouted, and he turned his furious gaze on her. She wrapped her arms tightly around Toothless, who had realized who it was and was now holding back just as tightly.

If they moved, the floor could give way. If they stayed, Dagur would get them.

He was shaking with rage.

Hiccup kept a steady gaze on him, and called out, not taking his eyes away, "Heather! Camicazi! Are you two okay?"

In the millisecond they didn't answer, Astrid's heart thumped. But then there was a groan and a shout, and Cami called out, "We're -"

"Heather's unconscious, I'm calling an ambulance!" came Tuff's voice, and everyone's eyes widened. "Get out of there, now, you guys!"

Dagur glared, with his fists clenched. "Oh, I don't think you're going anywhere. No one hurts Heather and gets away with it.

"Dagur, be reasonable," Ruffnut growled out lowly, as Fishlegs whimpered next to her. Neither of them made a move.

He chuckled, and with a motion so quick Astrid almost missed it, threw a knife at Toothless.

She shrieked as she turned without thinking, as Hiccup moved as quickly as he could to shove them all to the ground, and the knife pierced her right shoulder.

Astrid felt the pain, but not in an agonizing, burning way. It was more of a panicked frenzy; she wouldn't be able to carry Toothless if her arm was of no use.

Toothless's eyes widened as the knife clanged to the floor, and the white fabric of the sweater turned red. Hiccup growled in his throat, shouting out for Snotlout to help her up before grabbing the knife and running towards Dagur furiously.

"Hiccup! Don't!"

Snotlout grabbed Toothless and held him as tightly as Astrid would want, and Fishlegs and Ruffnut came on her other side to help her up. Everything was becoming dizzy very quickly, and she was well aware that there was a lot of blood leaking out her shoulder.

But one thing was clear, Hiccup was fighting Dagur. Alone.

And if that moron thought that that was a good idea, he was worse than a jerk.

"Get Toothless out," she gasped to Snotlout, trying to clear her head. "Go. Go!"

Toothless shook his head, terrified. "Astrid, no -"

"Go now, Snotlout!"

While he went down the stairs - carefully, she hoped - Astrid broke away from her friends' grips and ran, with pain throbbing throughout her right arm as she went towards the brawl.

The knife had been knocked away from Hiccup, and now it was just a fistfight, with both boys bleeding in different places.

She knew the floor would crack before it did.

More of it gave out, and Astrid, in her dizzy state, prayed that Fishlegs and Ruffnut weren't coming after her.

Dagur fell first. He tried throwing one last punch at Hiccup, who leaned backwards, looking worse than she had ever seen him. Before he could fall, Astrid tried sliding the way Cami had earlier, and while she succeeded in catching Hiccup, her arm began to scream in protest.

A horrifying cry of pain escaped her throat. Hiccup yelled out, pushing himself up as Dagur hit the floor with a thud, unconscious.

"Astrid!" he yelled, and she barely even registered it. "Astrid, why did you - why would you - "

He cradled her arm, tearing off as much of his shirt as he could and tying it around her shoulder. Neither of them moved from the floor.

"You idiot," fell out of both their mouths at the same time.

There was another crack, and Astrid clenched her fists, ready to fall, but the floor didn't give out. With a fearful expression, she looked up, seeing the ceiling begin to crack open.

One single piece of debris fell, and began an avalanche.

"Hiccup!" she gasped out, but it was too late.

He launched himself over her, shielding her right arm most of all, and she had to witness the extreme look of agony that came over him when the debris began to fall.

As she fell unconscious for the second time in two weeks, the last thing Astrid heard was the loud siren of the ambulance.

 **I never have, and never will be, good at writing action scenes.**


	19. Chapter 19

_There was nothing else going through his mind, just that Dagur had hurt Astrid while trying to hurt Toothless and that Dagur was going to stop hurting people because Hiccup was going to hurt him instead._

 _He shouted for Snotlout to help Astrid and ran towards Dagur._

 _Really, he would much rather have stayed with Astrid, to make sure she was okay. But if he wasted time then Dagur would just hurt more people and Heather was already hurt and now Astrid was hurt and he wanted to hurt Dagur for being the cause of all of it._

 _Dagur saw him coming, and grabbed the hand the knife was in before twisting his arm back. Hiccup hissed in pain as the knife fell, but he wasn't done. He raised a fist and punched the red haired boy, snarling even as his fist protested._

 _It brought a split lip in Dagur's case. But it also brought back a fist for Hiccup, and a much harder one at that. He stumbled back, with a broken nose most likely, as Dagur punched him again, this time in the stomach._

 _Hiccup wouldn't fall, even if he could taste blood._

 _So he didn't crumble, his resolve wouldn't let him crumble. But the floor did._

 _It started under Dagur's feet and began to spread, and Hiccup was falling - falling until someone grabbed both his hands and screamed in pain._

 _It was Astrid - and - and he could see the blood on her shoulder and with a groan he pulled himself up, trying to get it through to her that she wasn't supposed to come after him, that she was supposed to be out of this damned building and the chaos it was bringing. The chaos that Dagur was bringing._

 _But something in him softened at seeing her - that she stayed. For him. Even though she had just been stabbed. She cared about him enough to stay. She really did._

 _It was as he was wrapping cloth around her shoulder that her eyes widened in terror and it took him half a second to realize that the sky was falling on them._

 _So Hiccup dived over her without really thinking, and he let out a pained yelp as he felt a horribly hard piece pierce his leg. The weight of everything on him crushed Astrid as well, and she passed out._

 _There were sirens outside. Someone was here, than Thor, they would help her, they would -_

 _Suddenly his leg was on fire, and he knew no more._

* * *

Hiccup had lost his leg.

Astrid had been told this information about ten minutes after waking up in the hospital. It was early morning, and apparently, some time throughout the night, there had been a decision to amputate Hiccup's leg.

So it infuriated her to no end that the whole family was there when she woke up. Coddling her. All she had were a few stitches. She'd had to wrestle the information out of her mother - as well as learn that the others, including Heather, were unscatched and Toothless was back at the orphanage.

When she was finally allowed to walk around, some of her aunts cheered, and Astrid rolled her eyes. This was ridiculous. She wanted to see him, needed to see him -

To thank him, and to apologize.

Hiccup had taken the hit for her. And just a few hours before, she had accused him of helping a kidnapper. Astrid had a headache.

"I guess now we know that I have the better taste in boys," Rosie said, grinning, once everyone was eating the horrible hospital food that Astrid couldn't stomach at the moment.

Astrid froze, turning to face her cousin with a look of disbelief. "What did you just say?"

"You know where my boyfriend took me last night?" she asked with a smirk. "To a romantic dinner date. Meanwhile, you went to...what? A criminal. Nice standards, Astrid."

"We went," she growled with gritted teeth, "to get back a ten year old. An orphan."

"Mmhm. And the best part is, along the way, your boyfriend becomes a cripple!" Rosie snorted, and the sudden anger the flooded through Astrid made its way into words.

"What the fuck is wrong with you?" Astrid hissed, taking a step forward. "He lost his leg, and you're making jokes about him? The least you all could do it let me see him. And the best you personally can do, Rosie, is never talk about him again with your filthy mouth." Then, as an afterthought, she added, "Bitch."

With that, she brushed past her, ignoring her mother's calls to come back. She was so sick of this. So sick of her family. She wanted to see her Hiccup, and neither the Hofferson clan nor the weak-willed woman who said only family was allowed to see Hiccup Haddock was going to stop her.

He had a private room, and Astrid, barging in, halted when she saw the towering figure of Stoick Haddock standing there.

They blinked at each other, until the man said quietly, "Hiccup is still asleep. He woke up very early, but was only awake for an hour."

"Oh." Astrid ran a hand through her hair. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to -"

"No harm done," he said with a wave of his hand. "Here, you can come sit."

So she did.

Hiccup looked...okay. He looked calm. She could imagine he hadn't been so calm when he first woke up, but right now, he did. Small brown tufts of hair fell on his fair, with a few going to his eyes. She reached out and pushed the hair back, for a moment not caring that his father was watching. It would be a little too much if she kissed his forehead, though.

"Are you alright, Astrid?" Stoick asked quietly.

"I'm fine, sir." She took a deep breath and leaned back. "I just got a few stitches on my shoulder. Dagur - he threw a knife at me."

"Thor," he breathed, "he really is a madman, isn't he?"

"Oh, I think stabbing me is the least offensive crime he's committed."

They were silent for a few minutes. Her gaze fell back on Hiccup, how peaceful he looked, how brave he'd been - all of them had been brave yesterday, if nothing else.

All these feelings because of one basketball. Yeesh.

"He really looks up to you," Astrid said suddenly to Stoick, who raised a brow. "He acts out so you notice him. He doesn't think you approve of him."

"He...of course I approve of him -" Stoick began, leaning forward, but Astrid shook her head and interrupted.

"Sir, you - if you measure someone by accomplishments, I wish you were my dad. Hiccup, though? He...he…" Astrid took a deep breath, trying to find the words. "I don't think he thinks he's good enough to be your son."

When Stoick didn't say anything, she kept going. "But he is. Gods, I - I didn't like him at all a week ago. But, once I went past seeing him as a...jerk…" She cringed, but Stoick waved his hand to indicate it was fine and to keep going. "And once he stopped seeing me as, I don't know, some robot, I...really liked who I saw."

"Clearly he did too," Stoick said wryly, gesturing to his son with a nod.

Astrid blushed fiercely, but nodded. "I'm not telling you how to parent or anything, I wouldn't know the first thing, but I...really really like your son and his friends. I think they're a lot more than what people like me or you could see them as."

Stoick studied her for a few seconds before saying, "I think you're right, Miss Astrid Hofferson." His lips quirked in a smile and his eyes shone with amusement the same way Hiccup's did. "I think you're very right."

So they sat there, not saying much after that, but Astrid had a feeling that they didn't need to.

* * *

When Hiccup woke up again, Astrid Hofferson was sitting next to him, leaning back with her arms crossed and her eyes closed. She looked to be resting her eyes, but not sleeping. No one else was in the room.

He didn't know what to do or why she was there.

"Astrid?"

Her eyes flew open and a relieved smile graced her lips. "Hiccup! You're awake!"

"Is that what you call having your eyes open and being alert? I had no idea," he teased, trying to sit up.

"Whoa, whoa. I don't think you're supposed to do that just yet."

It did sting, just a little, so he lay back down. Astrid looked comfortable where she was, but she leaned forward and asked gently, "How do you feel?"

"Like a million bucks, milady."

"Alright, that's enough sarcasm out of you today." Astrid rolled her eyes, but she was still smiling at seeing him awake. It made him giddy, and almost made him forget that he no longer had a leg.

"Your dad just left to get something to eat. He should be back soon."

"Right."

Hiccup didn't break his gaze from her. There was still no explanation for why Astrid was there (wasn't she missing school? Would she have missed school anyway? Did Astrid like anyone enough to miss school?) but he didn't want to ask. He wanted her to stay.

After a few awkward seconds, they both spoke the same thing at the same time.

"So-"

"-rry."

"Sorry?" Astrid asked, astonished. "For what?"

He wanted to laugh. Didn't she know? There was so much to be sorry for on his part.

"For...for making this all happen. This stuff with Dagur. For getting Toothless kidnapped. For - oh, I know, for being a dick to you. For slapping you. For throwing a basketball at you. For - mmf."

He was cut off as she pressed her lips against his, although he wasn't complaining. A pleasant wave of - of Astrid - rode into his senses. What was it about this girl that made kissing her so amazing?

She had moved from the chair to the bed and was letting their lips meld in unison. Hiccup slid an arm around her waist, because gods, she was kissing him she was kissing him she was actually kissing him -

"Stop…" Astrid murmured, finally pulling back. "Blaming yourself. Please. There's…there's enough dramatic things about this situation without you taking all this bullshit on yourself."

So he did. She was staring at him like that so of course he did as she said.

Then she took a deep breath. "I'm sorry too. I called you names, I twisted your arm. I insulted your friends. I...I accused you of aiding a criminal." She closed her eyes and rested her forehead on his. "I did all that and...I'm sorry."

Maybe a week ago, Hiccup would have wanted to make a video of somehow getting Hotshot Hofferson to apologize. But a week ago he'd been stupid, no? This kind of moment wasn't something you shared, it was one you kept close and remembered and appreciated.

He didn't want him and Astrid to fight. He wanted them to be together. To - at the least - get through high school together. All of them hanging out out with their friends and helping the kids and having fun…

Hiccup tried to lean up to kiss her but couldn't quite manage it. Astrid grinned, the twinkle in her eye telling him that she knew he was attempting to mimic her smooth move.

Hiccup pouted, and so she leaned in, and soon there were no more words. Everything was Astrid. Astrid. Her lips, her hands, her cheeks, her freckles.

He didn't want the moment to end.

It was only when Stoick came into the room with a tray in his hand that the two teens pulled apart, blushing and stuttering and avoiding his dad's amused glances.

But the taste of her lips was finally etched into his memory, and, judging by her smiles and hand holding and general behavior, it seemed he'd have a lot more similar memories soon.

Hopefully.

 **Next chapter is the last chapter! ^_^ Thanks for reading!**


	20. Chapter 20

**It's happening! It's here! It's here!**

Hiccup's face burned as soon as he stepped inside the high school. He was sure that the story had already been spread and he'd be hearing different versions of it today, but one thing was for sure: his leg would be coming off in each of them. Even if it hadn't been circulating before, it definitely would be now.

He trudged to his locker, only to be met with Heather and Camicazi, kissing, and Snotlout next to them looking everywhere else but their locked lips.

"Oh?" he murmured to his cousin.

"I don't know. I think they kissed after Heather was discharged." He made a noise of disgust. "Hey! I'm happy for you two, but cut it out!"

Cami pulled back and shook a fist at him. "You don't see us complaining when you make out with your muscles, do you?"

"You complain literally every single time -"

Hiccup tuned them out as he put his books in his locker. After being discharged after a few days in the hospital, he had one day off at home, and now it was back to school. High school.

It seemed so different now. And the changes were starting right there in the morning, when a friend of Dagur's came swaggered up to him with a snarl. Cami looked away from Snotlout to scowl at him and the two lackeys behind him.

"What do you shits want?"

"You." It wasn't directed at Cami, but at Hiccup. "You landed Dagur in jail, and now, you're gonna -"

He was interrupted when he was pushed aside by Ruffnut Thorston, who smirked as her twin brother threw an arm around Hiccup. He bully looked, confused, between the two blondes, who were freely associating with Hiccup Haddock of all people.

"Go on," Tuff mocked, "just don't be surprised when you wake up tomorrow with acne all over your chinny chin chin."

Ruff snorted, glancing at Hiccup with a touch of amusement in her eyes. "Tuff, what's the acne gonna do? The monstrosity he calls a face is already hideous."

The guy made an ugly look, stepping forward. Hiccup's eyes widened and he tried to grab Ruff's hand to get her to back away, but Heather nudged him with a knowing look. "If you think petty insults are gonna keep me from beating Haddock into a pulp -"

"Is something going on?"

Oh. Heather had seen -

One of the biggest teacher's pets in the whole school. Fishlegs looked a little nervous, but otherwise he was staring down the group of three. "Because it seemed like you were threatening to beat up another student. I'm sure the principal would love to know about this."

Ruff smirked at them.

But it seemed that even that wasn't enough. The guy stepped closer to Fishlegs and pushed him lightly, snarling. "Listen, you dweeb, go back to Calculus class where you belong -"

"Don't shove him!" Snotlout said, coming in to stand between them.

The guy raised his fist and Cami reached out and grabbed it, trying to twist his arm back. The bully turned around with a snarl and made to smack her with his other arm when someone grabbed that as well.

Astrid.

"If you lay one finger on her, I will help her beat the crap out of you." Hiccup grinned lightly as one of the guy's friends finally got the message and yanked him away. Cami grinned and raised her hand.

"Nice."

Their hands met in the middle and Heather smiled softly at him. This was what she meant, this was what she had wanted when she wanted all of them to hang out. To become friends.

Astrid walked over to him and slid her arms around his neck, running her fingers through his hair. "How's the leg?"

"It's as good as yesterday." He rested his forehead on her's, unable to keep the smile off his face.  
Astrid Hofferson was his girlfriend.

Hotshot Hofferson, the girl he hated at the start of break, was his girlfriend. And she was amazing. It hadn't been easy in the hospital, but it had been easier with her visiting every day, joking around with him, along with a whole lot of kissing.

Speaking of kissing…

"Oh, come on!" Snotlout shouted. "I expected better from both of you! Both of you!"

* * *

Astrid slid off her bag as she walked into the orphanage, as Stormfly rushed out to meet her. She opened her arms and the little girl jumped in, burying her face in her shoulder.

"We missed you," she mumbled.

Astrid stood up, holding her tightly with a small smile. "It's been a day, Stormfly. I was here almost all day yesterday."

"Yeah, but we got used to you being her for a long time. Now, you have school again." She pouted, and the older girl laughed as the door opened behind her.

Stormfly slipped from her arms and shrieked in delight. "Hiccup! You're back!"

Astrid turned around, and there he was, laughing as Stormfly hugged him the legs - leg. He picked her up and their eyes met, and she must have been looking strange, because he nudged her shoulder and asked, "Something wrong?"

"Nothing. You're...you were only supposed to come during the break." When she saw Hiccup open his mouth to respond, she quickly added, "I mean, I fully expected you to come, but it's different actually seeing you here."

He gave her a crooked smile as they walked up to the room. There was a joyous shout of "Hiccup!" and "He's back!" as they went in, and the kids, led by Toothless (who was the only one tall enough to reach the older boy's stomach) tackled him in a hug.

As he got reacquainted with them, Astrid leaned against the wall and watched with a smile. Maybe she should have been jealous. But, really, how could she be when the kids were this excited to see him?

So it was good that she wasn't jealous of her boyfriend. It would make liking him a little difficult.

Things had changed so much in the past few days, and she wasn't exactly ready, but she was definitely getting better.

As was Toothless, who engaged with them a little more, let himself smile a little more, and especially, Astrid thought with a fond smile, looked up to Hiccup a little more.

And to think, at one point she would never have wanted any child to look up to Hiccup Haddock.

Hide and seek commenced, and since she had zoned out, she was chosen as it. The kids scurried, and she held back a laugh when she heard Hookfang paddling to his favorite hiding place under the table (he hid there no matter how many times they found him).

Deciding to humor him, Astrid opened the closest first. Hiccup was in there, and with a grin, he leaned forward as she started to ask, "What are you -"

And when their lips met, she realized just exactly what her boyfriend's target had been.

 **Aaaaaaand finished! Odin and Freya above, a year and half later, this story comes to a close!**

 **Thanks to everyone who's read it, please review and let me know what you think!**

 **Also, as a small notice to anyone who's been reading my other fics, I won't be updating as often anymore. The first half of the year basically ends next week, and I won't have any free periods anymore, and three new classes, so I don't know when I'll get a chance to write, besides maybe a oneshot here and there (and my new love, Stevestrid).**

 **If you don't read my other fics, thanks for reading this one!**


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